The Second Circle (maketheplay) wrote in worldsapart_ic, @ 2019-03-11 18:52:00 |
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Entry tags: | daniel penbrook, xx_sabine lucas |
Who: Daniel Penbrook & Sabine Lucas
What: A grumy vampire and dragon meet up to drink enough to forget this godawful day
When: Valentine's day [Backdated]
Where: Reverence
Rating: Low
Warnings: n/a
Locking up on days like these was one of those little things in life Sabine had been told she needed to enjoy more. She had no idea what they were talking about of course - she already loved doing this. Quiet day - what few customers she’d had were regulars, and the hours had passed with easy conversation, easy inventory, and easy count at the end - meant a quiet lock up.
Exactly as it should be.
Tucking the key into the inner pocket of her coat, she headed off. It wasn’t an excessively long walk, but with how long even the easiest of lock ups could take, she would just about make it.
If Daniel hadn’t suggested the night out, she’d be heading home, content with the day, and determined to indulge in chocolate, wine, and bad action movies on tv. Absolutely none of the hallmark mess she was sure was clogging the airways on most channels. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Valentine’s day, so much as she didn’t get it. And, like most things Sabine didn’t get, that fact alone annoyed the hell out of her. So while she appreciated the extensive availability of even more chocolate than usual, she could have just as easily gone without.
As that didn’t seem to be a possibility anytime soon, time spent away from the world with good alcohol and someone to commiserate with seemed the best runner-up.
True to what she thought, she made it through the front door’s of Reverence at eight. Now, she just either had to find Daniel and get that first drink he promised, or find a place to wait him out. In the unlikely event she’d made it here before him, it’d be nice to have a place to enjoy the moment from.
Alas, poor Sabine, there was rarely ever a time when Daniel was beaten anywhere. He was after all the sort of man or rather vampire who made sure to arrive earlier than expected if not for the fact he liked to take some time to get settled before his company arrived. On this occasion he’d used that time to not only loosen his tie and collar but also secure himself and Sabine a drink.
He knew her well enough to know that he wouldn’t need to announce his presence she’d either spot it or sniff him out, either or. Definitely a benefit to being well acquainted with a dragon, they had impressive noses and sharp senses to go right along with it.
Daniel did however turn at the exact moment the clock struck eight and sure enough there she was and he greeted her with a lift of his glass.
The scent of the club after the sharp cool of outside muddled her up more than she’d ever admit, only the curl of her lip giving her away to anyone who knew her, but she spotted Daniel turning around easily enough. Of course she hadn’t beat him - hadn’t managed once in the years she’d known him. But, well, they had awhile to go yet, didn’t they?
Flashing a sharp smile at him, she made her way over, sliding in next to him easily enough. “Daniel, dear, lovely to see you made it through the day then. I was worried for a moment there.” She teased, smile still sharp, but more genuine this time. “Hope the day didn’t drag on too long for you?” she asked, snagging the drink she was pretty certain was hers - Daniel had always been good about that. And either way, it definitely was now.
“Somehow and God only knows how I managed to get through his abhorrent day,” he assured her with a smile as she took the drink that he had definitely secured for her. “And you? I trust you escaped relatively unscathed?” He tugged on the already loose tie a little more, letting it go slack which allowed him to pop another button on his collar.
He flicked a look over at a gaggle of women who were quite intoxicated and gushing about how wonderful their boyfriends were. If they were so wonderful then why were they in a group, in a club, getting drunk?
“That sounds like something actually happened. Care to share, or are we going for brooding from the get go?” Sabine asked with a grin - maybe a touch sympathetic, in the right light. Shrugging out of her coat, she leaned back comfortably in her chair, scanning the crowd with a careful eye. This would definitely do for tonight.
“And please, who stops by an antique store on Valentine’s day? Regulars and people mistaking us for the White Rabbit. No, by the sounds of things, unlike you, I had a rather pleasant day.” Though she did need to remember to check on the clocks in the back tomorrow. Scared one of her regulars almost to death, bless her heart, with how it was going off. It hadn’t seemed too odd at the time, but looking back...well, problem for tomorrow. Shaking her head, she followed Daniel’s gaze, raising an eyebrow, “Losing interest already?” she asked, a teasing lilt to her tone.
“Definitely brooding from the get go,” Daniel assured her with a smirk. “And no, not losing interest already. Despairing I think you’ll find.” He took a sip from his drink. “It’s truly amazing what idiocy this day can inspire in the masses.”
He sat back and eased out of his well pressed jacket and rested it next to him, fingers slipping down to the cufflinks to ease them free until he was able to roll his sleeves up towards his elbows so piece by piece he was relaxing into the evening and more importantly his company.
“Brooding and despairing. Think we’ve definitely come to the right place then. And just today? I wasn’t aware people reserved their stupidity for one day of the year.” Sabine grinned, glancing back at the group that had caught Daniel’s attention, “Would certainly make things easier though, wouldn’t it?”
Watching him out of the corner of her eye, she hummed as bits and pieces of what she’d privately compare to armor came off. Nice to see she wasn’t the only one relaxing into the night. “But come now, I thought the point of tonight was to forget ‘the masses.’ And while alcohol will certainly help, think we’ve got a while yet to go before that’s a factor. Tell me what’s been keeping your attention lately.”
“It helps that on this one day alone they are a special kind of stupid,” Daniel countered with a smirk. “And you’re right, tonight is about forgetting ‘the masses’.” He clinked his glass against hers to toast to that sentiment. “Oh you know, the same old things. Business, Black Velvet, working with the local outreach to help wayward vampires whose Sires are not worth the fangs they were given, that sort of thing.”
He didn’t mention the embrace that he and Billy had shared in Black Velvet as it was true: what happened in Black Velvet stayed in Black Velvet.
“And you?”
“I think we see different crowds of people, Daniel. But, fair enough,” Sabine agreed easily, lifting her glass into the toast before taking a drink. And grabbing the bartender’s attention long enough to get another started, because this one certainly wasn’t going to last long. “You know, someday you’re going to have to actually tell me what ‘business’ is for you.” She teased, expecting nothing of the sort. She had a faint idea and that was really all she needed.
“Hopefully nothing too distressing on the outreach side, though?” She asked, frowning slightly. While she may not get the bonds between the more communal minded species, she knew enough to find it...distasteful that the outreach system was even needed. Bonds or not, responsibility was something she took seriously and the idea of flaunting that set her teeth on edge.
“And nothing quite as exciting, I’m afraid. Shop’s been quiet - except for perhaps a few cursed mantle clocks, remind me to check on that would you? - and this is the first night out I’ve had since William dropped by. And before that was even more abysmal.”
“Never,” Daniel replied with a grin and a wink as he leaned back and nursed his drink though his expression did darken a touch when Sabine asked about the outreach programme. “Unfortunately there was an incident.” He gave a shake of his head and let out a weary sigh. “Young woman no older than twenty three had apparently been turned after a night out with friends and managed to hurt ten people before we finally caught up with her.”
Suffice to say she’d been put down.
He turned his head to look at Sabine when she mentioned Billy. “Oh? And how was Billy?”
Sabine couldn’t help but wince at Daniel’s admission that there was something to tell, leaning onto the table to actively give her full attention. The actual story was...well, she couldn’t say it was what she expected, but altogether she wasn’t incredibly surprised either. There weren’t too many ways incidents like that could go down.
Shaking her head slightly with a sigh, “Glad you were able to find her at least.” Shame it just hadn’t been sooner, though she’d be the first to admit she had no idea if there was anything anyone could’ve done at that point. Regardless, she reached over to lightly squeeze Daniel’s arm before letting her hand drop again.
“And good, good. If you don’t count being hung out to dry by the LAPD, apparently. How he sticks with it, I’ll never know. I offered to shift, give his bosses something else to focus on for a bit, but he didn’t seem to want to take me up on it,” she grinned, “Can’t imagine why.”
Daniel’s head turned as Sabine reached out to squeeze his arm before he sipped at his drink, letting the information about Billy sink in. “You shifting to give his bosses something else to focus on is something I would pay very handsomely to see.”
No lie, only truth.
“And I have no idea how he does it either. It’s beyond me, it really is. I think I would have murdered somebody by now.”
“Dear, it’s something I would pay him to let me do. Girl’s gotta have some fun, occasionally.” Or ever, at all. Going out with first William and now Daniel was just reminding Sabine how little she’d deviated from her routine lately. She needed to get her footing back, honestly. While she’d never been an excitable person, even she could admit her daily schedule was stale, and she needed to fix it.
Glancing around, she amended that plan. She needed to fix it when the go-to plan for the night for everyone else didn’t seem to be forgetting they were in public.
“You’ve seen him lately, haven’t you? And you know, I think we may have found the reason neither you nor I would make good cops then, but why William makes a fantastic one. Far more patience in that one.”
“That and he’s far better at putting up with people and their bullshit than either of us,” Daniel agreed as he sat back into his chair and extended his arm across the back of his and Sabine’s combined. “And I have. At Black Velvet.” And they’d been in touch via phone since so it would seem they had both agreed that the thing that had happened between them was definitely a Black Velvet thing.
Daniel was watchful, always aware, and that in itself could be something of a trial given how the people around them seemingly had no shame.
“I don’t think that bar’s too high, if we’re being honest.” Sabine offered with a small grin. She could try to project patience all she wanted, she knew, but with some people, it was just easier to own up to a temper, as long as she wasn’t actually owning up to it.
“And yes, your little vampire club,” She knew it was more than that, but as she’d never stepped foot inside, it was far more fun to tease about it. “Can’t imagine there’s much talking happening there, though.” Crinkling her nose slightly, she made a rude noise in the direction of their closest...neighbors, waving for another round because if she was putting up with people, she was doing it with alcohol.
“Well you’re right about that,” Daniel affirmed with a smirk. “I think talking puts a lot of people off the whole process.”
He tipped his head to regard their neighbours and rolled his eyes before shooting Sabine a grateful look as she ordered them another round.
“I’m starting to think we should have holed up in an apartment instead.”
“I’ll have to take your word for it.” There was very little chance she’d ever step foot in Black Velvet, but Daniel looked way too pleased with himself for there not to be a slight spark of curiosity. Maybe one day she’d take a closer look. Or grill William about it. She might have better luck there.
“Do you have an unlimited supply at your place? Because I certainly don’t.” A couple bottles of wine and corner store liquor did not an exciting night make, “Besides, if they get too close, flash a bit of teeth and most should scamper off. Though I seem to remember the plan being drinking enough to forget they’re even there.”
“Which we are definitely not doing enough of,” Daniel concluded as he ordered more drinks even if they had yet to finish the ones we had. “I mean getting drunk is out of the question but drinking to forget? That is something I mastered a very long time ago.”
Thankfully the staff here were very good and immediately their table was supplied with drinks upon drinks, each more potent and colourful than the last, all of which were downed with impressive skill and speed by both occupants.
Eventually it did become easier to ignore the world.