The One Eyed Bandit
rotworm
Passeri Park
SCENE:
Clad in Golden Dreams
TIME:
Post-Arc 3, Timeskip 1 | June 16th, 2022
LOCATION:
West District
PARTICIPANTS:
Passeri, Ezra, Viss, Mark, Jess, Hiachi, Tak, Elias, Missy
Clad in Golden Dreams
It was all so much. First, there was the blubbering girl beneath the table, and then there was that scruffy-haired menace screaming in her ear. Both in front of Markus, of all people, and arguably even worse, both right where Elias had front-row seats to it all. She felt faint, almost, as the enormity of it all fell down upon her. This was a rare emotion that was blooming inside her. She wasn't just annoyed, or irritated, or even upset.
She was embarrassed.
"...Riigghhttt?" Was about all that she could squeeze out, under the pressure of Markus's puzzled gaze. Really, it was quite unreasonable of him to expect an answer out of her. What was she supposed to be? A herder for all of the Albino Tiger's wayward misfortunates?
...
Yes.
That was exactly what she was supposed be. Apparently. Tonight, she was a cowgirl; A lady-rancher with a chip on her shoulder. A chip in the shape of a lovely party that was about to come down crumbling around her. Her earrings jangled like spurs, driving a pack of tiger-striped, screaming cattle into a ranch named 'Anywhere but in front of the King'.
"Gosh, I-" It was hard for her to compose herself quickly enough. Markus was right there, staring holes into the side of her head, and she could definitely feel the wick burning short on some awful, imminent disaster.
Or maybe that was just the smell of Scruffy's farts.
"You know there's signs, right?" He would've barely had to read them. Big, black arrows. His and hers. There wasn't even a line. She wondered if those friends of his in the fan club had gotten to him. Maybe he just wanted her to hold his hand?
"You, ah... Big guy?" She gestured to the bald, bouncer-looking fellow clamping down on Scruffy's shoulder. "Could you help him out? He's a bit..." Stupid, and she was starting to wonder if he really couldn't read. "...Stressed-out and the moment. Not in his right mind. Would you do us a favor and show him to the bathroom?"
She gave Scruffy a smile full of daggers. If he argued about this- If he shit on her floor- one of them was going to be knocking on his front door tonight.
"And... Please." Now there was the case of Hiachi, sobbing beneath a tablecloth. Fat, acid tears rolled down her face, vicious things that were trying to strip away the girl's very presence. Were those really the same eyes that she'd seen murder in, those few months ago? It was hard to imagine that the girl breaking down in front of her right now was the same one that had almost thrown a man off of a 52nd-story balcony, but she supposed that she'd seen harsher dualities.
Like, Passeri Park, showing a homeless guy to the bathroom? It sounded like a University Comedy skit.
Unfunny.
"Hiachi...? What happened?" She inserted herself at Markus's table, beside Elias and opposite the King. "Come here. Markus isn't that scary, I swear." She joined Elias in attempting the coax the girl from her hiding hole, and dabbed away her tears with the back of her gauntlet.
She grasped the trembling pieces of her night, and slowly started to slide them back into place.
"Would you like a drink?" She was asking everybody, but especially Hiachi. This was Markus's table, she knew that. It might have been hers, once, around twenty minutes ago, but the moment he'd sat at it, it'd become his. And then here she was, consoling a girl at it, but what else was she supposed to do? Take her to the bathroom like she'd been asked?
No. Not a chance. The next time she turned her back, she was going to come back to a stick of dynamite and a mule, she could tell.
"Eli, Markus? You two drink, right? Let's share a round." Or not. Really, she was hoping that the two of them would just stand up and leave, but it wasn't like she could actually say that. She waved over a server, who approached only with the most reluctance in their gait that a human being could possibly muster. "Could I get a glass of champagne, please?"
She urged Hiachi a bit further out of her hiding hole.
"What about you? We've really got everything, and if we don't, I can have a runner pop down the street and pick it up for you." Maybe Missy. She'd seemed eager to get out of here. "Just come out, please? The seats are quite comfy, I promise."
She was embarrassed.
"...Riigghhttt?" Was about all that she could squeeze out, under the pressure of Markus's puzzled gaze. Really, it was quite unreasonable of him to expect an answer out of her. What was she supposed to be? A herder for all of the Albino Tiger's wayward misfortunates?
...
Yes.
That was exactly what she was supposed be. Apparently. Tonight, she was a cowgirl; A lady-rancher with a chip on her shoulder. A chip in the shape of a lovely party that was about to come down crumbling around her. Her earrings jangled like spurs, driving a pack of tiger-striped, screaming cattle into a ranch named 'Anywhere but in front of the King'.
"Gosh, I-" It was hard for her to compose herself quickly enough. Markus was right there, staring holes into the side of her head, and she could definitely feel the wick burning short on some awful, imminent disaster.
Or maybe that was just the smell of Scruffy's farts.
"You know there's signs, right?" He would've barely had to read them. Big, black arrows. His and hers. There wasn't even a line. She wondered if those friends of his in the fan club had gotten to him. Maybe he just wanted her to hold his hand?
"You, ah... Big guy?" She gestured to the bald, bouncer-looking fellow clamping down on Scruffy's shoulder. "Could you help him out? He's a bit..." Stupid, and she was starting to wonder if he really couldn't read. "...Stressed-out and the moment. Not in his right mind. Would you do us a favor and show him to the bathroom?"
She gave Scruffy a smile full of daggers. If he argued about this- If he shit on her floor- one of them was going to be knocking on his front door tonight.
"And... Please." Now there was the case of Hiachi, sobbing beneath a tablecloth. Fat, acid tears rolled down her face, vicious things that were trying to strip away the girl's very presence. Were those really the same eyes that she'd seen murder in, those few months ago? It was hard to imagine that the girl breaking down in front of her right now was the same one that had almost thrown a man off of a 52nd-story balcony, but she supposed that she'd seen harsher dualities.
Like, Passeri Park, showing a homeless guy to the bathroom? It sounded like a University Comedy skit.
Unfunny.
"Hiachi...? What happened?" She inserted herself at Markus's table, beside Elias and opposite the King. "Come here. Markus isn't that scary, I swear." She joined Elias in attempting the coax the girl from her hiding hole, and dabbed away her tears with the back of her gauntlet.
She grasped the trembling pieces of her night, and slowly started to slide them back into place.
"Would you like a drink?" She was asking everybody, but especially Hiachi. This was Markus's table, she knew that. It might have been hers, once, around twenty minutes ago, but the moment he'd sat at it, it'd become his. And then here she was, consoling a girl at it, but what else was she supposed to do? Take her to the bathroom like she'd been asked?
No. Not a chance. The next time she turned her back, she was going to come back to a stick of dynamite and a mule, she could tell.
"Eli, Markus? You two drink, right? Let's share a round." Or not. Really, she was hoping that the two of them would just stand up and leave, but it wasn't like she could actually say that. She waved over a server, who approached only with the most reluctance in their gait that a human being could possibly muster. "Could I get a glass of champagne, please?"
She urged Hiachi a bit further out of her hiding hole.
"What about you? We've really got everything, and if we don't, I can have a runner pop down the street and pick it up for you." Maybe Missy. She'd seemed eager to get out of here. "Just come out, please? The seats are quite comfy, I promise."