(1501) The Bar

[Star]

Bars, yo.

Step into the office. This is where some people make their bones. Or, at least, avoid sitting alone at their cabal's table. That's just... weird. That whole big table? Paging Cabal, Party of One.

Pretty sure his name wasn't Leo Lockheart.

A glass spun.

A bottle poured.

Belly up.

[Jag]

Fluke approached the bar, wondering if drinks were being offered for free, or if he would have to pay for his boozing that evening. As he took a seat, he noticed someone else was already chillin by the bar. "Hey," he said in greeting, recognizing the guy from the first formal Concilium he attended. "If my memory serves...you are Star, right?" From the brief chat they had during that occasion, the Acanthus had taken a liking to the easygoing demeanor of the other young mage.

"Do you know if this is an open bar?" he asked, a slight smirk forming on the corner of his lips.

After all, free booze was better than regular booze.

[Star]

"Sure, it's open!"

No idea, yo. It's open now, though. The funny part would be if Santa shook him down later. The only fat stacks he had were seat cushions from his theater-room. And, speaking of?

Hands fished out a carafe and set it on the bar. See that? That's where tips go. Right there, in the jar. Remember, tipping your bartender makes for better drinks.

"And, right, that's me. You're, uh, Fluke, right? Like a fish's tail? Where's Mae?"

A glass spun slowly in one hand, while the other brought his own drink up for a swallow. Or two.

"Oh. My bad. And what are you having?"

Because bartending.

[Jag]

Fluke let out a soft chuckle in response. "Yeah, Fluke," he said to the Obrimos. "But more like a stroke of good luck." He offered Star a wide grin as he said those words. And a stroke of good luck it was, that the bar was open that is.

"Mae? Well, I'm not sure to be honest," he said in response, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "I figure she may have wandered off into the wilderness or something. Or may be she's down in San Fran, trying to start her own Summer of Love." He let out another chuckle, amused by the thought. Yet, he was a little sad that his old friend had disappeared in the past few months.

I hope she's doing alright.

"Something with rum," said the Acanthus in response. He didn't have something in particular in mind, but he did like his rum.

[Star]

"Rum?"

Rum, rum. Red rum. Wait, no, that's not right. Tell him, Omar. That's just not right.

"Lot of weird, fruity drinks with rum. Like, I dunno, vacation drinks?" Hands fished around, pulling out a light rum and a bottle of Martini and Rossi. Eventually, and orange was produced.

"Then you graduate, you know? To the Mojito and Caipirinha, and think you're done. But, you're not."

True story. Even amounts of the rum and sweet vermouth were poured, and a spiral of orange peel pared off to garnish half the glass. Oh, snap. This isn't someone's first rodeo. Ever try to make it as a professional entertainer? If you're a guy, you end up bar backing and bartending to supplement. There are other ways, but Don't Ask.

"At least, not until you've had a Jean Harlow."

Long fingers slid the drink over, complete with a little square napkin, before picking his own back up to nurse.

"That's cool. About Mae. So, like, what have you been up to? You got, you know, a crew to run with yet?"

[Jag]

Fluke watched and listened as Star worked his magic behind the bar. Sure, it wasn't Supernal magic, but as far as the Acanthus was concerned, it was magic nonetheless. He was definitely entertained by it, and couldn't wait to find out what drink would end up in front of him.

"A fine actress," said the Libertine as Star presented him with his drink. "And I'm certain it is also a fine drink." He smiled at the Obrimos as he said those words, reaching for the glass and bringing up to his lips for a taste. "A fine drink indeed," he added, clearly pleased by the concoction.

"What have I been up to?" he said, repeating Star's question. "Well...not much to be honest. Mostly getting to know the city, and some of its residents." He shrugged slightly after confessing to the fact that he had been slacking off. "I did meet this guy...Miach? He asked Ermac and I to look into a fire in some place called the Wong Center," he added after taking another sip off the Jean Harlow.

"I guess he suspects foul play, so he wanted someone to go investigate," he said, shrugging once more. "But other than that, I haven't been up to that much really...and I'm still flying solo I guess."

[Star]

Laughter made the mop sway. Wong Center?

"Dude. Dude. When he suggest that, were you all, like, 'Do I look like Julie Newmar'?" But, actually, the dude wasn't bad looking. Picture him with a shave and eye shadow.

Also? Terrible tipper.

"There was some thing, I think, like a Cabal Fair? I guess. Like a job fair, but for cabals. I've never been to a job fair so, you know, that could totally be wrong, too. But there was a thing. About cabals." Shoulders shrugged, and he plucked at the sweater's cuffs as they rode up.

"But, like, really, the most important thing about cabals is, you know, not being in one that sucks. Sucks in the way that it's full of sucky people, not sucks at whatever it does. Like, I'd totally rather be in a cabal that sucks at what it does, but is full of cool people."

Wait.

Did he just indict his own cabal? Nah. They didn't suck at what they did.

"You met anyone else since the last thing? Someone to roll with?"

[Jag]

Fluke couldn't help but laugh at Star's words, shaking his head slightly. "No, I didn't," he said in response. "But now I feel like I should have." The look on Miach's face would have been priceless, and Ermac would've likely gotten a kick out of it as well.

He quirked an eyebrow at the mention of a Cabal fair. "Huh. A Cabal fair?" he said, mildly amused by the idea. "I must have missed the memo..." he added, letting his words trail off. The Acanthus nodded in agreement with what the Obrimos was saying. "Yeah, I get what you mean. Originally I was gonna be forming a Cabal with a couple of old friends, but they have moved elsewhere," he said, shrugging slightly. While he was slightly disappointed by the fact that Crank and Mae had left, he wasn't one to dwell on such things. He had to keep moving forward in order to make progress happen.

"To be honest, I have only met the other Libertines in town, and also members of my Path," he confessed to Star, taking another sip from his drink as he did so. "Some of them are cool and all, but I haven't had much one-on-one time with anyone asides from this chick named Faye."

[Star]

"Faye, huh?"

One on one time? File that under Not Surprising. He'd gotten that vibe. And, no doubt, if there weren't other things going on at the time? Nobody's judging. The world needs more super good looking, super friendly people. True fact.

"Just, uh, you know. Like, be... careful..."

That sentence was going places. Eventually. Eyes had slipped and slid around until they'd found what they were looking for and then stopped. Everything stopped -- even the hands that were always in motion fell still. The expression? Didn't change at all. Nothing to see here. Or over there.

Some people just keep pushing. Until they get pushed backed.

Right, Omar?

"But, yeah, last I saw, she was hanging out a lot with that, hmmmm, what's name? I think he's an Arrow. Oh, right. Striker. That guy that keeps breaking the Lex. Anyway, but, yeah, you know. Just saying. He might be the jealous type."

A finger spiraled around his ear. Jealous as in cray cray, yo.

"I think he's in the Archangels cabal."

Because super helpful informative.

[Cryotic]

Apollo approached the bar, eyes occasionally scanning the shifting groups of mages. He wasn't sure what he was thinking at the moment, the "First day in the cafeteria" feeling still sitting on him like a large rock. So why not try to douse it with alcohol?

"Hey, what's goin' on?" He opens and pulls up a seat.