The Bamboo House of Dolls

[Kingsley]

Kingsley wandered through Lacrimosa in search of Mason and Parker, she hadn't run across them since their last incident. Which had the girl taking a break with her back to a wall and a cigarette dangling betwixt her lips. Fingers reached up and pulled the nicotine stick out, a plume of smoke reaching lazily towards the skies. Emerald eyes drifted away from the monotonous faces and fingers of the left hand reached into the pocket, srltroking the Veritas coin in doubt.

Both eyes turned towards the door leading into the tavern and stomping out the cigarette stub she went in. The Bamboo House of Dolls is cool and dim inside, and she can take off the sunglasses without wanting to faint. There are old Iggy and Circle Jerks posters in the black-painted wall, but behind the bar it 's all palm fronds, plastic hula girls, and coconut bowls for the peanuts. There's no one in the place except for the bartender and her. She grabs the stool at the end of the bar, farthest from the door.

The bartender is slicing up limes. He pauses for a second to give her a nod, the knife loose and comfortable in his right hand. That other part of her brain kicks in, sizing him up. He has close-cropped black hair and a graying goatee. He looks big under his Hawaiian shirt. An ex-football player. Maybe a boxer. He realizes she's looking at him.

"Nice shirt. Why do you look like you dropped out of the devil's asshole?"

She's wondering if this is some Hellion setup, and if she can reach one of her blades in time. He must see it on her face because he gives her this big deer-in-headlights grin and she knows he's caught onto her joke and serves her a Jack Daniels.

[Romal]

The weather had changed dramatically and Romal caught himself glancing up to the skies with a frown as the heavens opened soaking everything with in seconds. He pursed his lips with the shake of a head he had not gained himself any place to stay yet and the last thing he wanted was to be trudging around cold and wet when he had alternatives.
He had not found his brothers yet and he didn't intend to until he had gained himself some footing again in Lacrimosa beside for all he knew his brothers were not there yet he didn't care they would come in the end set up shop as they usually did and then he will kill them all together in a family portrait of blood to which he would also end his own miserable existance to complete not only the prophecy but his suffering so they could all ascend to something different which they should have done hundreds of years prior.
"Damn you" he uttered at the clouds his mood taking an even steeper down hill climb the wetter he got. His gaze had roamed all of the building fronts and he found none appealing until he saw a tavern the name hell it was strange but what did he care if it had a room he would take it, for now.

Leather chained boots thumped against the earth as Romal crossed the streets, his coat which was also leather taking away some of the rain while his black jeans already torn and his gray shirt soaked through causing them to stick to his body outlining it well.
Pushing the door open he took a moment to adjust to the smells and sounds of the place he didn't often go to places like this now, in fact he had not been to one since long before his death.
It seemed deserted aside from two, one of them staff it would suit him fine he measured, a quiet stay then he would move on.
"Hey man got a room to let?"

[Kingsley]

Carlos hands her the Jack Daniels just as some person looking like a wet dog trudges in. Now, Kingsley isn't one to judge a book by its cover, but this man is asking for a room like it's an inn instead of a bar. She looked around, seeing no stairs leading anywhere and nothing but empty tables since The Bamboo House of Dolls isn't in its rush hour. She takes a sip of her drink and swirls it before turning around and looking at the creature.

"It's a bar, not a whorehouse."

Peachy as ever, her eyes roam the male's body to assess how much pressure or muscle she has to exert in case he gets touchy. The assessment stops at his eyes and there's a certain look and smell about him, something she's familiar with. Interesting, don't some time, hombre? Kingsley shakes her head and smirks, here she is thinking of a way to kill him when he's not even after her. That's how fucked up her head has gotten since she got the fuck out of Dodge. Downtown's done a number with my head. I've got shit for brains.

"Grab a seat. I'll buy you a drink. Otherwise Carlos is going to kick your ass out into the cold wet streets again."

Stretching the left leg she pushes a stool out and goes back to drinking. Who said I wasn't a good girl again? Oh right, Rai-Rai said I was a bitch.

[Romal]

The woman answered him but he did not look at her his eyes still upon the man behind the bar, he paid little mind to the woman she seemed to think herself funny. In his travels he had often found that bars and pubs had back rooms that they would let out. If he were wrong he wouldn't be staying much longer maybe for one drink but he had no time for being mocked he didn't tolerate it from those close to him let alone a complete stranger who tried to get cocky with him.
He saw that the barman seemed to be happy with the answer being given by the female and he sneered, pussy having a woman talk for him where the fuck had his balls shriveled off and ran to.
"I don't know. You do have that sort of look about you" his retort came late as he moved to the bar he was done ignoring her for now but still had no intentions of getting pally pally with anyone.

Standing he placed one of his hands against the bar counter the woman swiftly offering him a drink, his head turned to look at her for the first time his eyes summing her up on a quick glance. If she thought it would mean he would owe her something she would have another thing coming.
"I can buy my own"

[Kingsley]

"Chill Voldemort, I'm trying to do my good fucking deed for the day. You don't need to get asshurt over someone with a shit mouth."

Truth was Kingsley wasn't even trying to be funny, this was just the way she was the majority of the time. It took someone very special and with a hard shell to get past the snarky bitch towards what she liked to call the gooey chocolately middle. Though she did look down at her appearance and smirked, a guy with sass; good. She hated having pussies around her all the time, at least his bark was good, she'd have to see about his bite.

"Order up, I said I'd buy you a drink but I won't be ordering for you."

Carlos wasn't one to talk much, he knew Kingsley enough now. It was weird as fuck being in a new place, fresh out of hell and finding that the bar had moved locations somehow, though the bartender was always the same. Maybe this was divine punishment for the things she'd done in Arcane and the things she'd do here.

"You've got this look about you, says you've been downtown."

Kingsley's eyes traveled to the side, looking right at her new best bud and his serious expression. He'd definitely been down there with the troops.

"Who'd you serve and for how long? You weren't in league with Azazel, I would know you right off the bat if you had been."

[Romal]

"Your good deed for the day huh" he retorted abstaining from rolling his eyes to the back of his skull at her comment he very much doubted that she cared much for doing good deeds at all let alone keeping note of how many she did in a day. "Buying poison does not count as a good deed I think" she did have a shit mouth so far so he didn't bother replying on that or the nickname she had given him.
She was never going to give up on the drink though so he knew he would have to either leave or order up, he weighed the two options with a sigh, he didn't want to go back out and get soaked so he grunted in annoyance before his reply.
"What ever the house brew is"

He watched the man behind the bar before his eyes drifted over the liquors that were lined up, there didn't seem to be a huge amount of choice but Romal wasn't picky if it warmed him to the bones and took away the tormenting thoughts that he drowned in since his return he would drink his fill and more.
His jaw clenched at her question, he could never seem to escape it no matter where he went or who he spoke to, it haunted him following him every step he went.
"That is none of your business is it?"

[Kingsley]

"It is if you're a beastie working for one of the pricks I took out in the arena down there."

She shrugged and downed the rest of her drink before leaning over the counter and picking out a bottle, a wink to Carlos and she refilled her glass. She'd pay the dude, come in and probably take some prick skinhead off his hands so they'd stop coming around trying to demand "insurance" money from the bar tender. Carlos didn't seem to care, he pulled out a bottle of moonshine and Kinsgley smirked as he poured her new friend a drink.

"Careful Voldemort, that shit's laced with Nebeiros. It's a ground crystal that demons shit Downtown, hard to cultivate and will take you for the trip of your life. Shit's a doosy."

She didn't want Nacho Libre over here going fucking psycho on her, so she swapped out their drinks. Handing him her Whiskey and taking the 'shine for herself. Though she didn't drink it, they had given her that shit down in the pit and fuck them if she was going for a psychedelic trip again.

"Look hombre, you look like you've had a shit day let someone be nice to you for a fucking change. I'm Kingsley."

[Romal]

"I'm not working for anyone so get your head off that subject for a start" he grumbled infuriated that the conversation had turned towards hell, the last thing he needed was a flash back or some sort or his father surging him into some form of attack mode that would send him stalking off into the night to kill his brothers. He wanted a night off away from the cold and the rain where he could try to forget about it all if just for a little while.

He watched as the tender finally did something of use other then look at them both from over the bar top he was quickly coming to the conclusion that the man was utterly useless.
She warned him over the drink that had been chosen but then took it to herself. "If it's so bad why bother serving it huh?"
He picked up his whiskey taking in it's scent before he decided to drink any of it.

"Oh this is you being nice to me, cheering me up is it?" he asked his eyebrow quirking as he turned on the stool to look at her. "Doing great so far hombre"

[Kingsley]

"Hombre is used for men, asshole. I'm a chica."

He had a shitty attitude, worse than hers. But the people downtown did that to you. Since he was so inclined on not talking about it she shrugged and let it go, dumping the moonshine down into the sink before turning her shotglass upside down and turning to look at him.

"It's what demon pricks drink, you look like the sort."

Another shrug and a stretch given, the conversation going nowhere with this tight lipped virgin.

"So you got a name or should I keep calling you Voldemort?"

[Romal]

"Oh you are? I didn't notice" he turned the in the stool once more to look ahead while he nursed the drink she had got for him. He would return the favor and get the next one.
"And you don't drink it?" he asked without a tone of hatred she seemed to know so much about below he assumed that she had come from there herself. "Why would you not drink it, demon pricks? What are you?"
He turned again to look at her, if she had been downstairs and came back out she would have to be something far from being human.

He finished up his drink and slapped some money onto the counter nodding for the tender to serve him and the female again. "My name is Romal"

[Kingsley]

Kingsley rolled her eyes when he slapped the money down on the counter and simply shrugged, tugging at one of her strands of hair and then turning around to face him. A deadpan expression on her face as he didn't understand what she was, even when she was a living, breathing, heart-beating girl sitting in front of him.

"I'm a real boy, duh. I'm not a demon shithead, I just got sent down there by some Sub Rosa assholes doing the bad with the juju about nine years ago. I was alive when I got demon-snatched, Romal."

Since he'd given the name, then she'd use it and completely ignore his snide comment about being a girl. I get that a lot cause I'm a fucking tomboy. she thought, fishing into her pocket for a smoke and lighting up by pretending her finger was a gun. The flame danced on her fingertip and she inhaled, blowing out a nice flurry of smoke.

"What about you, are you a demon?"

[Romal]

He took up his new drink as it was slid across to him, looking at it he wouldn't complain another whiskey was good enough he didn't much care what it was at that point.
She was alive when she was snatched? This meant nothing to him nor did he believe her when she stated she was not a demon her pyrotechnics with her cigarette said to him that she was no where near being a human being.
"You seem pretty demon to me, or something close enough" he muttered without actually really caring about what she was.
"What's with the questions?" he scanned her over wondering why she was so interested, there would be no point in him lying, the runes etched into his skin screamed supernatural he was long over trying to be able to pass himself as a human.
"Yes I am"

[Kingsley]

"If you don't really care, why do you bother asking?"

People were so self-absorbed these days, it made her a little annoyed especially when she was showing interest. It was the rudest fucking thing anyone could do, ask and not give two shits. Why bother then? Shrugging she took a shot glass and helped herself to some whiskey, downing that and sucking on a lime afterwards.

"Making conversation to kill the time, and because I've never smelled someone like you Downtown. As for being a demon, you pick up a few tricks when you work for Azazel and spend nine years fighting off beasts in an underground arena."

Kingsley turned around and looked at him, straight on this time. Something unsettling about the way the lips curved up and her pretty blunt human teeth glistened in the limelight.

"I'm the boogieman that hunts the beasties in the dark. Doubt you've heard of me though, I'm just trying to have a little fun before those assholes come looking for me. Do you know the Sub Rosa, Romal? I need to find a shithead named Mason."

[Romal]

"You have never smelled someone like me?" he frowned wondering what she meant by it. He had never been told he carried any kind of scent in particular and he now questioned whether hell had tainted more then just his mind, had it changed it make up? "And what smell is that?"
He didn't pay much mind to what she said about Hell, he didn't care about the places. If it were up to him he would ignore the fact he had ever been there and try to never give it a thought again. Things didn't seem to work that way though as increasingly he found out to his great annoyance.

"No I haven't heard of you and no I haven't heard of the Sub What ever either. I was held in a small section not integrated into the 'main stream' like a normal death"

[Kingsley]

“Sub Rosa, it’s a human sect. Got nothing to do with Hell or Heaven. They’re just pricks with lots of mojo.”

She downed another drink and then slapped the glass on the table, burping under her breath with a smirk. So much for being a lady. Kingsley could hear the disapproval in Ragnarok’s voice, the blade being awfully chatty for a stuck up bitch with a mightier-than-thou complex. Kingsley ignored it for the moment. Back to the fact that Voldemort stinks.
“You smell coppery with a tinge of that toasted earth shit. Not sulfur, that’s too obvious and Downtown likes to make shit interesting. It’s copper and burnt earth, like the way the sun sparkles like a fucking unicorn horn against the sand; all glitter and shit.”

It was a half assed explanation and she shrugged, drawing her hair over one shoulder, for protection or whatever. There were scars along her neck, something of the sort of rope burn; not visible before because of her hair. Kingsley lit up another smoke.

“Did they put you in the arena?”