Grand Opening: Nox

[Princess]

Mary laughs, at first assuming he was joking at thinking she was actually good - it was entirely too deeply embedded in her mind that people only put up with her because they thought she was cute, so complimenting her talent seemed a bit off. But she held the laugh to a friendly giggle while she looked at his face.

Is he for real?

"Uh, actually tending bar pays the bills. Did you really like it that much?" she replies after a moment of consideration. She neglects to mention she got interested in playing guitar again in the process of mourning the sudden departure of an ex who played the blues so very well. But she did have a different blood alcohol content now than then so that was on the side of maintaining compartmentalization. "I don't actually have a, uh, 'day job' technically? What do you do, while we're chatting about it?"

If anything was more embarrassing than being too drunk to remember the guy's best friend, it would be getting wasted and gushing about how she had found herself staring at the empty half of the bed and crying for months to the well-dressed guy who just offered her a drink for friendly conversation.

[Edwin Bridges]

Edwin looked hurt. The creeping smile slowly spreading across his face gave away the crappy facade.

"Edwin is a smooth name. Its a classic," the Lord replied, chuckling. "Besides, it was you whom stated that you wanted a drink named after an actress." He took a sip of the Shirley Temple, which tasted quite foul when compared to his usual beverage.

"Lohan is not an actress. Not even close."

Another pause as Edwin surveyed the club, head nodding in time to the music. Finally his eyes resettled on Alicia.

"My offer stands, Alicia. Whenever you wanna party, I'm just a phone call away. And I really wouldn't worry about work killing you. Everything happens for reason."

[Marcus Evan]

Marcus would have liked nothing better than to have spent the remainder of the evening on the dance floor with Aaren. Not only was he genuinely enjoying her company, but it was also a nice stroke to his ego to be seen dancing with such a beautiful partner. However, when she mentions getting a drink, he realizes that he is indeed getting thirsty. Once the music changes, Marcus gives Aaren a smile and a wink before inclining his head toward their table. Putting his hand out behind him as he makes his way through the crowd, he doesn't grasp his dance partner as if she were something that belonged to him, but rather offers it for her to hold if she so desires. It's starting to get really crowded and they could easily lose each other in the sea of flesh-colored revelers. Once they makes it back to their seats, Marcus pulls out Aaren's chair for her as he gets their server's attention.

"Alright? I'd like a pint of lager please. Stella Artois if you have it. And, for the lady..."

[Morgan Bellanar]

"Eeeeh you'll be fines, heh. All fun and games when nobody hurt. Best do in daytime for new-guy-safety," she nodded her head slowly as she kept going with that thought, "aaafter dark parkour not easy. Look-afor-leap no help if can't see stuff-no-bad-lesson-that-was, heh...hafta thinka easy spot." She coudl think later, when her head wasn't so fuzzy. Right now she could only right off the private property spots. These guys were nice, no need to give them a rap sheet.

Thrillin-Dillon wanted her phone number? She shrugged and giggled. Why not? "Oh-kaay Thrillin-Dillon, heh, I sooo remember that numba iz-ah 1...1...uh...1? No-not-nope-nadda. Iz-zah...Hey! I'll get it from the phone, yes-yup." She manages to produce said pre-paid phone surprising ease. She does take some time to get her phone number and started to show it to Dillon then stopped, "Wait-moment...not my numba, this...no that's grumpy Mal..." well a couple of times before she stopped looking in the wrong place. Finally she found it, "Oh-heh-heh correct number I did find, hope the wait you didn't mind. Heh-heh I rhymed." This time Morgan shows him the number and it is the correct one.

She did wave bye-bye as Mary left, unconcerned. Mikey-Mike had seemed nice after all. Mary could handle herself and had more then enough friends in town to make any mundane regret mistreating her.

[West]

Just passed the month mark, let's start wrapping up! Closing thread in two days​.

[Michael Redfill]

Mike shakes his head at Mary's ( Princess ) modesty:

"You're being ridiculous: you play at least at the level of a decent band member and your singing is better than most professionals'", - he smiles reassuringly, - "You can trust me, I'm the eternal amateur: always listening to music instead of increasing my own skills", - there is a hint of sadness to his voice. He'd really like to devote more time to practicing the panflute but between his jobs it's very hard. Speaking of which, did she just ask what he does for a living? And just when this polite conversation might be getting somewhere, the evening is slowly drawing to a close.

"Actually, I teach world history at the CSU. Also, some research and stuff but teaching is the most fulfilling part of the job", - like most things he's said this evening, it isn't a lie. Sure, being buried neck-deep in the fusion of mathmatics, economic models and social theories pays better but it's so much more boring than trying to make young distracted heads hold some knowledge.

As he watches Mary sip her cosmo a nascent thought he'd been carrying around with him for a while takes shape:

"Say what, since you're an amateur, like me, would you be interested in jamming or performing some time? I've been thinking of persuading Dillon and some other friends to gather and delve into chaos that is a bunch of semi-trained people trying to make something beautiful".

As much as Mike'd like to ask Mary out, she hasn't shown much interest. But playing together could be fun too.

The beauty of our condition. Music and conversation with a girl actually interest me more than sex.

He supposed it was what made Kindred enticing to Kine. Attractive women were always aware of men trying to get into their pants. Kindred wanted... something else. But pants could be a pleasant addendum.

Now I'm having a conversation with myself about pants. Gods help me.

[Princess]

Mary smiles and nods along at the flattery, because she knew that's precisely what the most diplomatic decision to make in this situation was.

"Ah, so you're in it for 'the right reasons' then, yeah? I'm just in my job for the money," she confesses with a wink so she could deny the honesty of that statement later. Pausing to enjoy her tasty beverage, an eyebrow raises at his next remark but she keeps her thoughts to herself.

Did he just ask me to be in his band? The hell? Just say what you want already... no, this is good. Maybe we can actually talk for a few weeks this time. New beginnings, now with self-respect!

But the outer result was simply the she pauses, looks confused for a moment, and then a smile finds out how to dimple her cheeks again. Even though the 'make something beautiful' line did sound a little bit like maybe he was really saying, 'I'm a lifelong bachelor but now I'm desperate for kids and you appear single and fertile.' But at some level she was pretty sure this was over-thinking things by about 347%. Maybe he could help her with a presentation on the subject...

"Uh, sure? You two seem fun. Hand me your phone and we'll figure things out huh?" she replies warmly, hoping the pause was unnoticeable in his alcohol-soaked brain. And her 'wait for things to happen to her' approach did need for constant adjustment.

[Michael Redfill]

Mike laughs softly at her 'the right reasons' comment also noting the wink:

"Well, yes and no. I mean, maybe I teach for the right reasons but it's my other, more boring work that pays the bills", - that's just how the things are. If you want both personal fulfillment and wads of cash to throw around, you better have two jobs. And he has like four. Or five. Frankly, it would be pretty depressing if he weren't such a good juggler or if even one of his activities didn't have flexible hours.

He's not smashed enough not to notice the pause but decides to ignore it. After all, it's the results that count, right? And the evening has been pretty great so he hands over his phone (it's a little worn-down Sony Xperia Z):

"Sure, here you go. And if you'd like to grab something to eat and talk about stuff some time, don't hesitate to call. Or, you know, let me call", - presumably while she's writing down her number, or making a test call or whatever, he adds with a slightly self-ironic smile - "Fair warning, though: I sleep heavily through the day and talk like a drunken academic even when I'm not drunk".

Might as well tell the girl in advance. A smooth talking rocker he's not and his foot often finds itself in his mouth when talking to women who seem to be out of his league.

The fact that he even mentioned food (ugh!) to Mary might mean that he really likes her? Or is it just a habit from his mortal days? Anyway, best not to over-analyze things.

OOC

Mike's phone has a bunch of apps put into folders but contacts and the phone app are clearly visible in the bottom dock. Contacts (if Mary somehow wonders there) don't include his Kindred contacts. Those are neatly tucked into a protected list by Kaspersky Mobile.

[Princess]

Mary, with the grace and precision of someone fairly graceful and precise because she wasn't drunk, punches her number into his phone and hits call until her own buzzer rattles, then cancels the call and hands the thing back to him. She tried not to judge him on his crummy phone, given that her own phone had a brand name on it she'd never seen before in her life when it was pointed out as the cheapest thing that wouldn't just fall apart at the store.

And in response to his evasive and nervous remarks, she offers him what must have been either mercy or interest, saying, "Yeah, I might be free for dinner on my next night off. Give me a call in a few days and we'll talk? The earlier in the evening is usually the better." He could either take advantage of this and show some enthusiasm, or he really wasn't interested in anything more than a garage band with flutes and she was wasting her time. But she closed with something playful anyway.

"Well I sleep pretty heavily during the day, too, and if I seem shy I might just be resisting the urge to bring up Snapple Facts. Maybe we could see how well that brain of yours can handle bar trivia some time? You're friend seems like maybe the sports guy of the duo?"