Who: Pam and Raistlin What: Raistlin decides to make good on his threat to stop by sometime Where: Victrola When: Recent Rating: PG-13 - swearing from Pam Status: Complete
A burlesque club was not something Raistlin normally would have had any interest in. For him sex was just one of life’s necessities and was often thought of the same way he thought of sleeping or eating. However, if he were to be honest, neither sleeping or eating were always high on his priority list. The Dreams made sleep somewhat more important as he learned more and more about the world his other self came from, and through that gained more magical power and knowledge. Eating, however, was becoming something of a sticking point. It didn’t seem to matter how often Bela texted him to remind him to put down whatever book he was reading and eat a goddamn sandwich, he was still rail thin. At least the weight loss had plateaued. He wasn’t nearly as frail looking as his dreamself was, but he did look as though he could stand to put on a few pounds.
Sex, though, fell below sleeping and eating on Raistlin’s list of life necessities. He had other more important things that demanded his attention than looking to get laid. First and foremost was gaining as much magical knowledge and skill as he could. He wanted the kind of power his counterpart in Krynn had. He craved it the same way that version of himself did. The consequences of such power were clear, as was demonstrated by his weight loss and the nagging annoying cough he couldn’t seem to shake, but Raistlin was quickly coming to the point where he was willing to pay that price. That didn’t concern him quite as much as did the fact that he may be more like the Raistlin of Krynn then he cared to admit.
Which was probably why this particular night, Raistlin of Orange County had foregone his usual routine of studying his spell books, as was required by mages of his Dream world, and had gone out instead. He had spoken with a woman on the network who had piqued his interest and he had decided to make good on his promise (or threat) to visit the burlesque club she managed.
The club had not yet gotten busy when he arrived. Good. He stood more of a chance of finding the woman if she wasn’t busy catering to (or insulting) other customers. Icey blue eyes scanned the club. Clad in a pair of jeans and loose button down shirt ,he wasn’t exactly dressed for the atmosphere of red plush, but one could only wear a suit and tie so often in a given week. Dressing down and for comfort was also one of life’s necessities.
He felt a twinge in his chest, the threat of a cough, and decided to make his way to the bar. A glass of alcohol may keep a growing fit at bay. So he hoped.
“Scotch on the rocks,” he told the bartender. “Make it a double.”
Running a club here was so much better than running a brothel in Nevada. Things just were way more complicated when actual sex acts were involved instead of allowing perverts to just view women up on the stage. She had come to care for all the women in her brothel and she did actually feel some remorse for leaving them, but it was time to move on and she had enough money that she could be picky about what she wanted to do. Chuck Bass was a halfway decent boss to work for and she enjoyed being able to just run the show however she wanted and truly not worry about much. If it got to the point where she was getting sick of this place she could easily quit and not worry about things.
It was hard for her to admit, but the staff here was competent. She didn’t have to do too much to keep them in line and Chuck had groomed them well when the club first opened. As she sat in the back finishing up some paperwork she reflected on how amusing it was that she was in the same position in her dreams except that was a vampire bar and she happened to be a vampire. That was about the extent of the weird dreams that she had so far, but she knew more was probably coming. This Sookie Stackhouse character was going to be a thorn in her side.
Papers finished and stashed away in the safe she decided to head out to the bar. Her current outfit was simplistic for the evening with tight jeans, heels, a black tank top, and a black leather motorcycle jacket zipped up about halfway. Icey eyes gazed around once she made her way to the bar and saw a somewhat familiar figure sitting there waiting for a drink. Was it really that little shit from the network? The one who sounded as if he was almost about to proposition her. Rolling her shoulders back she made her way over towards him, “The fuck you doing here?”
The voice more than the words was what caught Raistlin’s attention. A dark velvet voice with just a hint of gravel and laced with a southern twang that demanded you paid attention to it. Raistlin didn’t like giving in to demands, so he fought the urge to turn towards at the blonde next to him with his full attention. He glanced at her once out of the corner of his eye before turning his attention back towards the bartender as his scotch was placed in front of him.
“Having a drink,” he answered her cooly. He reached back for his wallet to pay for the scotch. “And as I remember, you told me to stop by if I ever wanted to talk business of you not ripping me a new one.” Here he paused and smirked, turning slightly to look at her. “Speaking of which, have you started dreaming yet?”
Hopefully Raistlin wouldn’t point out that Pam still had a southern twang to her voice or else she would find another reason to rip him a new one. The fact that it was still there was a bit of a sour point and Pam wished that she could leave that part of her far far behind, but with dreams about being back in the South she knew it was just going to keep coming back. The act of not turning towards her was noted and she knew that she had already showed her hand for this part of their little encounter by coming up to him, but she wanted to see what his reply would be.
His voice wasn’t what she expected. It was a bit deeper and rougher than she would have inferred from just looking at him. His answer had been what she expected and she was only mildly surprised that he had decided to take her up on her offer. Apparently her sparkling personality was drawing people in instead of sending them far away. Chuck would have a field day with a revelation like that. “That is certainly still on the table because I have in fact started to dream. And while my boss has already been chewed out I haven’t ripped anyone a new one, so you picked a fine time to show up.”
Raistlin said nothing of the southern twang. It was noteworthy on his end, perhaps, but Pam by now was used to her own accent. To point it out to her was as useful as pointing out she was blonde. It did suit her, though, Raistlin decided, with her debutante attitude and made her all the more interesting.
Raistlin paid the bartender and picked up his glass. His grin snaked into something of a smile. Ah, she had started dreaming. He was curious about what a woman like Pam was dreaming about. Was she as brash in her dreams as she was in reality? Did her dream self drive her insane as Raistlin’s did? Or did she embrace it with open arms and revel in whatever world she found herself in when she closed her eyes at night.
He would ask in due time. First there was the matter of “business” to deal with. Raistlin turned his head slightly to stifle a cough into his shoulder. It was thankfully a mild one, subtle and easily passed off as clearing one’s throat. He felt as long as he stayed calm and drank his scotch, he wouldn’t be overcome by the fit he could feel in his chest.
He looked back at Pam, this time turning to give her his full attention. Icy blue eyes looked her over. Sex wasn’t a top priority for Raistlin, but he could appreciate beauty and Pam’s beauty was unique. “Are you still interested in ripping into me then?” He asked her, a brow raised. There was a kind of playful sneer to his voice “I still maintain that your dreaming is your boss’s fault for having you sign onto Valar. I only brought it to your attention.” He took a sip of his scotch. “Or did you take all your anger out on him? If not then I would still like to know the price of keeping my ass in one piece.”
It was going to be tit for tat if Raistlin wanted information on what she was dreaming because she would expect it back in kind. He was obviously dreaming if he knew that it would happen to her, but she couldn’t infer what it would be about just by looking at him. It had to be a boring existence because he looked like had seen better days, but maybe that was just his general expression. Her dreams really weren’t that horrible, incredibly confusing, but at least she was at the top of the food chain in her dreams.
The cough was noted with sharp eyes that didn’t let anything get past her without filing it away for later use. It didn’t sound like something to be concerned about, but if he did it again then she was going to grab a bottle of cleaner and spray him down with it. It wouldn’t be effective in getting rid of the germs, but it would make for an interesting sight and she would laugh about it for at least a couple hours.
Pam always thought she was sharp angles, but it appealed to both sexes. She usually didn’t want for a partner if she needed one, so apparently it was quite a useful appeal. With one side leaning against the bar she debated his question. It would be quite fun to rip him a new one, but the idea of toying with him a bit longer was incredibly appealing. Especially when he put that sneer into his voice and she couldn’t quite tell if he was flirting with her or not. She was still baffled especially the potential propositioning on the network. When she spoke her voice was a combination of bored and husky, “I may be. I could have lived in ignorant bliss while on the network, but you had to inform me and therefore jinxing me in the process. Now, my boss is exactly that - my boss and I am not going to burn that bridge because of this. But since you asked, what are you willing to pay?” Her eyes took on a predatory gleam as she leaned in to him. Perhaps it was the dreams coming through to her or it was the potential for learning how badly he didn’t want his ass ripped a new one.
The scotch was doing its job and the threatening twinge in Raistlin’s chest had eased, which was good. He commanded a kind of attention among his companions if only because they had known him for so long, and he was their source of magical knowledge, which had saved their sorry skins countless times now. Here, things were different. This wasn’t a world where magic was revered by some and feared by the rest. A man racked with a cough was not going to gain the respect or attention of a woman like Pam.
He raised an amused brow at her claim that she could have lived ignorant on the network had it not been for him. Oh, how funny a creature denial was. “I doubt that very much,” he informed her. “Your Dreams were going to start whether or not I said anything. However, you were commanding attention, I couldn’t help but oblige. You ought to thank me. If for nothing else than to give you the warning.”
Raistlin knew that predatory look Pam was giving him now. But there was something different in the way Pam was looking at him oppose to the way the bullies of his youth would look at him. It was a little reminiscent to the way Jonathan Harker had looked at him once, but with less horror and more intent. Raistlin felt a now familiar tug on his soul. This woman had stirred the interest of something buried deep within. Unbeknownst to him a shadow crossed over his face and his eyes shifted from blue to gold.
“So we’re opening the table for negotiations,” he said. His voice had shifted slightly. It was still deep, but it’s gravel quality had lessened to something considerably more smooth. He actually sounded amused by her question. “I’m not sure what I could offer you that you don’t already have. Is it money you want, or something a little more instantly gratifying?” With that the shadow slid from his face and his eyes again were icy blue.
The commanding attention comment was taken as a compliment and she almost puffed up, but she wasn’t that type of girl. Instead there was a tiny uplift of the corner of her mouth that was about as much of a smile as he was going to get about that one. He had obliged her and he had given her a warning, but she wasn’t going to give him the pleasure of appreciation. Not yet anyway. He had to work a little more for something like that. “I ought to thank you? Well then. Don’t you think highly of yourself. You warned me, big deal, it didn’t end up doing much for me.”
That part was true. He hadn’t told her what to expect. How it would feel to be a vampire in the dreams. The rush of hot blood in her mouth and how her fangs would feel sliding out from her gums. None of that was something she could be warned about and she certainly wouldn’t have believed anyone who had attempted to explain it. It had to be experienced and she had certainly experienced it. Now she just had to hope that it wouldn’t actually turn her into one for quite a while since she actually enjoyed the sunlight upon her face.
The color of his eyes was a subtle shift and Pam almost didn’t notice it. It was caught out of the corner of her eye and she was ready to write it off as something in the light. But that voice. It was different and it stirred something that made her lean forward. “Negotiations are welcome. I don’t need your money,” she wanted to scoff and say that she never needed anyone’s money. There was a point where she could be bought, but he didn’t have enough to reach that level - very few did, “But instant gratification is the name of the game and I’m all ears to hear what you could possibly offer.” That was how this world worked nowadays and she wanted to make sure that they were going to be on the same page with this. That small upward lift formed into a full-fledge smirk once she answered him.
“It wasn’t my intent to help you,” Raistlin told her simply. His voice had regained that rough edge Pam had noted earlier once his eyes had returned to icy blue. “I don’t help people I’ve just met.” There were very few people Raistlin offered his help to. In fact he could count all of them on one hand and have fingers to spare. He peered at her over the top of his glass. “I doubt you would have accepted it even if I had offered.” Though his expression remained stoic, there was a kind of teasing smirk to his voice. Pam didn’t strike him as someone who looked for help, but just did whatever needed to be done in any situation she found herself in. It was a quality he found that he rather liked.
It was at this point that he noted that she was leaning forwards now. Raistlin raised a brow at her. When had she done that? The other brow raised when she said that instant gratification was now the name of the game, as if she were agreeing with something he had said. Had he lost a couple of moments here? Or maybe it was the scotch that had made him utter an errant thought out loud.
Whatever the case, she was smirking at him now, apparently pleased with whatever it was he had said to her. Raistlin decided he was better off going with the current flow of their conversation than showing his hand by questioning what she meant. Her smirk was enough to tell him what she meant by instant gratification and hadn’t he come out tonight to give himself a break and have a little fun? Perhaps it was time to see to some of those life necessities that didn’t involve a book or cramming arcane knowledge into his head.
The look he gave her, a small grin of his own, was enough to say that he was exactly on the same page. “I could stand here all night and tell you what I could offer,” he said. He placed his glass down on the bar and took a step towards her, effectively closing the gap between them. “But you’re a busy woman. Why don’t I just show you? You have an office, right?”
He may have been a little presumptuous in his words and people were not things Raistlin read as easily as he did his books. Still he figured Pam was the type of person who responded more to frankness than to flowery words. Besides, flowery words were not Raistlin’s specialty.
He was completely correct in assuming that she wouldn’t have accepted his help if he had offered it up, but she appreciated the fact that he didn’t offer to help people he just met. She hadn’t been reaching out to get help from people and it took a lot for her to accept it when she truly did need it. Count it down as a strike against her personality, but that’s just how she just was. Raist was amusing her more and more as he spoke and she was doing her best to not show her hand in how much he intrigued her.
Fuck flowery words. She was pleased that he had picked up on what she was saying and more than happy to just take him into the back. No one would be looking for her if they knew better and she would be able to do something to benefit herself for the moment. She took the glass from him when he closed the gap between them and pushed it down the bar. It would be quite interesting once her vampire skills came into use, but for now she was just going to continue to perfect the ones she had. Her eyes stared into his as she reached forward to grab the front of his shirt.
“Let’s go,” she spoke the word in a huskier voice than intended as she held onto his shirt to pull him along behind her as they went back to her office. She didn’t bother to say a word to her employees as she pushed the door into the back of the club and went down the hallway towards her office. Oh yes, there was going to be an interesting conversation about what he had to offer and she wouldn’t only admit to herself that she was pleased in the turn of events for the evening.