Take Me Somewhere Nice

[Clara E. Verne]

Pre-Flite was a bar out of an old bank basement with no signs indicating it's existence. Walking in the lounge area was quiet with only a few patrons seated and talking. Drinks were filled, but not the main attraction. The out-of-the-way bar at the far side of the room was separated from the rest of the room by a wall. It consisted of an imposingly tall bar and stools just a little too short. The effect was a bar that came up just shy your shoulders and a space kine didn't feel was one to linger, even with the friendly bartender and bombshell of a woman seated at the far end of the bar.


The place was designed to pull in and push out kine, but the intimacy of area combined with it's rustic aesthetic appealed to Clara for the night. An untouched drink sat by her as she finished sending a last text to Lina. Clara looked like she was straight out of a Bohemian album cover; completely out of place and comfortably at home. She had put her phone away and chatted with the bartender about his political science degree. She spoke to him like she understood him and listened like she wasn't just waiting to speak. More and more the bartender lingered around Clara as she whittled away the early hours of the dusk.

[Clara E. Verne]

"Lina, hey!" Clara rose with aplomb and stifled the instinctual urge to dominate as she hugged Lina. It was a little easier when you started to recognize the person; familiarity helped to reassure the dark roommate all Kindred had there was no threat. Clara was out of practice on drink naming conventions and half-wondered what a French 75 was. A lonely Moscow Mule sat in front of her, though she couldn't name it if asked.

Before she settled into her seat Clara gave Lina an appraising look. Like a artist taking in another's piece. "You look cute. That your study dress?" She finished asking as she settled into her seat next to Lina. Clara made a playfully sour look at Lina's small query. "Terrible. I found this place and I love it so much I want to move in. But Sacramento real estate is for the birds and this one is a historical building, so that's a whole thing." A bank basement with the vault nearby might well be a Vampire's haven wet dream. "And you? Still recovering from the shock of moving here all the way from L.A.?"

Adding Blush for book-keeping

[Clara E. Verne]

"The good Doctor?" Her voice gave small hints of surprise. Apparently the Doctor was moonlighting as a real estate agent. "She must be a woman of many talents." A nothing statement that might be a compliment or a veiled insult. Clara mulled over the question as her finger thoughtlessly toyed with a thick lock of her loose brown hair. It was a hopelessly tangled mop of knots that she somehow made to look like a fashion statement.

All the while she was watching Lina without having her eyes rest on the girl. "Well, I'm just now dating this guy. He's amazing and I'm already thinking of moving in with him. Ya know, with the new night job he'll be helpful for daytime errands. And he's just the sweetest." She leaned back on her stool, intentionally giving Lina a bit of breathing room. Real estate talk already had Clara's mind on interior design. "Where you looking to settle? I know the 'burbs get a bad rep but there's lots of space."

[Clara E. Verne]

Lina was all about that Dragon Energy. Clara started considering the wisdom in Lina's words. Downtown made sense. And then Lina asked about her newest toy boy. "He's the sweetest thing. His horrible parents named him Leaves. I don't know if he's artistic. He's energetic!" She smiled and positively purred as she said, "We're in a love bubble. I don't want to break it too soon."

Clara nodded along with Lina but was thinking on her words. Were the suburbs really where Clara wanted to stay? "I moved out there 'cause it was cheap for the size you got. But downtown..." A mansion in the suburbs was a nice fantasy that might happen in a few years. A high-end condo right in the middle of downtown, however. "Have you found the right spot, Lina? Are you going to press the Doctor for a loan?"

[Clara E. Verne]

Millennial. Half the time Clara found it best to wave away unfamiliar concepts. Talking about Leaves honestly made it hard not to show all the pictures Clara had of him. The sudden realization that she wasn't in any of them cooled the Bacchante's mood and she simply smiled in response to Lina. "I never have trouble enjoying myself, Lina."

Moretti's plans for financial independence rained all over the small fantasy she'd been nurturing. Merde. Lina alluding to the Doctor's wealth had given Clara the impression that she was fishing for a loan, being fresh off the boat. "You stay busy!" She leaned in and asked, "You ever imagine yourself with the Sherlock hat?" Clara's demeanor had shifted, and she began to talk shop around Criminology and investigative work. Friendly shop talk was rare.

I didn't want to bog the post down with a bunch of Google-heavy questions for Criminology majors. The last part is Clara using her 2 Investigation knowledge to convey that she knows a bit about that and she's curious to see Lina's knowledge.