Bloody Mary, Please

Subject: Bloody Mary, Please Sat 9 Jan 2016 - 23:52

A dive bar is a dive bar. If you've seen one, you've seen them all. The light is dim, the air is heavy with smoke, the music kind of sucks, and the people populating it are in generally less than savory, but Val doesn't mind. The income she gets from assisting the bartenders here helps cover what scholarships don't for college, and that's nothing to sneeze at.

It's a slow night, and Val finds herself half-wishing that she smoked just so she could go take a break. She's not immune to feeling restless, after all; she's cleaned all the glasses, checked the stock of the bar, wiped all the tables...there's not all that much to do.

She leans idly against the bar and huffs a muted sigh, staring off towards the direction of the door. Hopefully in the next few minutes she'll hear the tinny sound of the bell that indicates a customer. Something to occupy herself with would be nice.

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Sun 10 Jan 2016 - 2:18

Ding-d-ding

Though had she not been directly looking at it, perhaps it would have gone unnoticed; The tiny bell above the door chimes, almost as if to respond to Val's desire for something to occur. Through the door steps a single boot, firmly laced all the way up in a neat and proper manner. Planting itself on the floor, the rest of the boot's owner appears through the doorway; a man, with medium length blonde hair and a somewhat nervous look on his face. He wore a light jacket, zipped up to the top, as well as some faded darker jeans. As he approached and his facial features became clearer, one could also see that he was clean shaven, and the look of nervousness he had was perhaps not so much nervousness as it was uncertainty. The type of uncertain look that says 'Am I in the right place?'. But, regardless of that uncertainty, the man walks calmly over to the bar, taking careful glances around the room at the few individuals that were there.

No, perhaps it was something else. Was he planning to rob the place? It would make sense, with few people around it would make for an easier job. Just hold the place up, take the cash, and split. Jump in, jump out. As he shortened the distance between the bar and himself, it became more apparent that the likelihood of him robbing the place was becoming increasingly less likely. He was skinny, and with his zipped-up jacket and jeans, there was frankly no place for him to hold a gun. But, as any number of possibilities pass by the customers of the bar, the man takes a seat. He gently places his hands on the counter and strums his fingers in a fidgety way, looking around at the bottles lining the back counter. He seems either oblivious or uncaring of the man sitting a seat down from him as the man keeps an eye on him, clearly irritated about the finger tapping.

After glancing around the bottles for a short time, he looks at Val. It was clear by this point that he was definitely unsure about something, but whatever it was he was definitely thinking it over. Intensely.

"Um, m'am?"

He asks. His voice was a little bit light for a man. He seemed young, although maybe he was just naturally slightly feminine. Regardless of the tone or pitch of his voice, he was about to vocalize what was bothering him. This is it, that interesting moment that Val seemed to be waiting for.

"Do you have orange juice here?"

He smiles. He smiles a naive, innocent smile.

"I can't tell, and just thought I'd ask since, well, you know... And if you don't have orange juice, apple juice or cranberry juice would be good too"

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Mon 11 Jan 2016 - 1:50

Val quirks an eyebrow curiously as soon as the bell sounds. She keeps an eye on the approaching customer, looking him over, observing -- he seems relatively average, all things considered. The way he holds himself goes against what she'd expect from a patron of this bar, but she's not one to judge. Whoever wants to come in can. The way he fidgets does make her question him, just a smidge, but when his question comes out in that hesitant tone --

-- she's relieved, and she can't help but let out a short laugh. She doesn't intend to be patronizing, but it's just so far from what she was expecting...and enough to actually amuse her, genuinely and not just for the sake of appearances, which is rare.

"Yeah, we do," she answers with a practiced smile, turning towards the mini-fridge where perishables are kept. She reaches for the orange juice; it seems they only have a little left. Enough for a glass, at least. She'll have to put it on the restock list.

She reaches up to grab him a tall glass, setting it on the counter to pour in the juice.

"So are you the DD tonight for company showing up later, or do you just feel like something light?"

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Mon 11 Jan 2016 - 2:04

After Val laughs briefly, Frank seems to relax and also gives a little 'heheh' of his own. He didn't seemed bothered by her amusement, as instead he seemed relieved. More at ease. He stops strumming his fingers and shifts his weight around to be more comfortable. He watches her pouring the glass and he takes his wallet out from his jeans pocket, setting it on the counter with his hand resting on it.

"Oh no, nothing like that. I just wanted some juice, and well, the closest store is a ways away."

He says, gesturing with his free hand.

"Oh but I don't drink anyway. N-not to imply that there's anything wrong with it, it's just not for me is all. Drinking is fine!"

Frank waves his hand dismissively, almost as if he expected to be in trouble for the implication that he liked alcohol. He grins and scratches the side of his head, averting his eyes.

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Mon 11 Jan 2016 - 2:29

"Don't worry about it." Val nudges Frank's wallet back towards him, giving a shake of her head. "We usually do sodas or whatever free for DDs, so...for all intents and purposes, consider yourself one."

There's certainly a handful of people that might percieve her as cruel because of her demeanor, but it's a faulty assumption. Val's a decent person who is capable of random acts of kindness -- because why the hell not? She finishes pouring his juice and carefully slides the glass towards him with a practiced motion, relaxing against the back counter afterwards.

"It'd be silly to make you pay for one glass of juice."

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Mon 11 Jan 2016 - 14:16

"Well, I'll tip you then!"

Frank pulls a $10 bill out of his wallet and puts it in Val's tip jar. Before folding his wallet back up and placing it back in his pocket.

"Repay kindness in kind. That's what my wife says."

He continues smiling, thoughtfully, and carefully takes the glass, taking a sip. Any hint of uneasiness seemed to be gone by this point.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmm~"

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Tue 12 Jan 2016 - 23:07

It's not often that Val encounters people that she feels at ease around. Almost always, it's a matter of performance and keeping up appearances, even with strangers -- there might be ill consequences were she to be too blasé. With how kind and innocent this man seems, though, she doubts that'll be a problem.

"Your wife has a good way of thinking of things."

She smiles again, more subdued this time, and plucks the bill from the jar and slides it into her pocket.

"Is she too busy to come along with you today?"

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Tue 12 Jan 2016 - 23:25

Frank slowly nods, thinking over what Val says.

"Yeah, she's always been wise about things in life."

He takes another sip of the juice.

"Actually, we had planned on going out and making an adventure for ourselves for some time. Saved up a good amount of money, and wanted to just, you know, go out and make an adventure. But in the end, she told me that she wanted me to go out by myself and experience the world for the both of us. I didn't want to do it without her, but she insisted. And well, she's with her family now, so I think she's ok without me. I miss her, but I just have to tell myself that I'll see her again."

Frank lets out a short nervous laugh, scratching the side of his head.

"Ahaha, sorry. I'm rambling on... Ah, I never got your name. My name's Frank. Frank Sorge."

(Pronounced Sor-guh)

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Wed 13 Jan 2016 - 0:06

Val watches Frank quietly as he speaks, her expression relatively neutral. When it comes down to it, she can' t quite think of what to say to Frank's commentary. On the surface it all sounds relatively normal -- his wife decided to stay home instead of travel, right? -- but there's something in the ambiguous phrasing that leaves her wondering if there's something more. That's why all she can really manage is a utterance of "I see" when he's finished.

She turns back to the fridge and grabs the juice again to top off his glass. "Val. Nice to meet you, Mr. Sorge. I hope your stay in Salem has been good so far."

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Wed 13 Jan 2016 - 0:20

"Oh, thank you! Yes, my stay has been good. Though I just got here not too long ago actually. I came in on the bus and came here first because I was thirsty."

Frank grins, going for another drink. This lady, Val, seemed nice. Frank was glad that he was able to meet a nice person so early on in his journey. It was a pleasant and refreshing start. He looks back up at her, slowly twisting from side to side in his swivel seat.

"Have long have you bartended?"

He asks, sipping the juice again.

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Thu 14 Jan 2016 - 21:20

"Mm, not long," Val answers after a few moments of thought. "A year or two. It's not something I want to stick with for the rest of my life, but it's putting me through college."

There's no reason to lie or to spin a tale about how she loves it oh-so-much, so she gives him the honest truth. It's just a job.

"I'm actually in school for physical therapy, so for the most part I focus on that."

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Thu 14 Jan 2016 - 21:43

"That's cool at least. Sorry you don't like the job though. You shouldn't push yourself to do something if you don't like it, but if it's for something you like, then try to hang in there and it'll be worth it in no time."

Frank swishes his orange juice around.

"Actually, I was in the military for some time. I was a sniper. I had to kill a lot of people."

Frank takes a drink of his orange juice, thoughtfully.

"When I think about it, it makes me sad. But it was a job, and you can't really let your duty get to you or you've failed yourself. But, I stuck through it and it was my job. I think it would be too sad to say that I got used to killing people, but if you want to just take it how it is, I guess you can say that's what happened. I mean, when you have to, you just... you know... do."

He taps on the side of his drink.

"I think everyone has good in them, but that doesn't mean there aren't bad people too. So the way I looked at it, was that I was protecting the good people by stopping the bad ones. So, I did my job for the good in the long run."

Frank lets out a breath, taking notice of his own long-windedness.

"Sorry, I'm rambling. I guess what I'm trying to say it, just hang in there. You're doing good for you and for others too. After all, I wouldn't have my juice if you hadn't been here"

He smiles and raises his glass in a toast gesture

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Sun 17 Jan 2016 - 0:08

Val hums a quiet noise of thought, mulling over her words before responding. She's not bothered by any of the information Frank has chosen to share, but she's aware that it's a sensitive topic despite how lightly it's being addressed. She drums her fingers against the back counter for a moment.

"Going numb like that is a normal coping mechanism," she answers finally, her words spoken somewhat slowly. "And that's not a bad way to think of things, especially if it got you through your work."

She pauses again, reaching for an empty glass to raise to his.

"Thanks, Mr. Sorge."

When she lifts the glass, it slips from her fingers due to the moisture of it recently being washed. It clatters to the tile and shatters, and Val reaches down to brush away the larger pieces. It probably would've been a wiser idea to go and grab a broom, because in the process she slices open her palm.

The man sitting further down the bar is dead within a matter of seconds, before Val even knows what happened.

Slow things down and you'd see the following: when she picks up the piece of glass initially, she flicks her wrist with an "ow". The blood from the wound sprays in small flecks that go in the man's direction. Instead of splattering against his skin, they pierce through flesh and bone. His head is left with miniscule holes, and he drops forward.

Val stares, pale.

"What the...?"

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Sun 17 Jan 2016 - 0:23

Frank, being oblivious as he is, does not in fact notice that the man is dead. As instead, he takes notice of Val first, seeing the glass shatter and her hand get cut.

"Oh, are you ok? Sorry, that was kind of my fault... let me help you with that."

Frank sets the juice down and begins picking up pieces of the glass, placing the pieces into his cupped hand in order to contain them.

"I have a couple of bandages in my pocket here if you'd like one..."

Frank trails off and notices that Val is staring at something. Frank turns a little to look over at the man that was sitting beside him, noticing that he was hunched over. It took Frank a moment or so to realize that the man hadn't simply passed out from being drunk, but rather that he was in fact dead. Frank carefully but quickly lowers his hand onto the table to drop the pile of glass, and stands up, looking about the room for the perpetrator. Once he realized that nobody seemed to be behind it, let alone anywhere near them, he quickly looks back at Val, confused.

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Mon 18 Jan 2016 - 14:40

What was once a calm and collected environment of people happily drinking away their problems quickly became a scene of pure panic. No one knew for sure exactly what had happened, but what they knew is that a man had died from a number of mysterious head wounds. Mystery in this day in age almost always led to one train of thought; there was an Alpha in the room.

All at once people started to make a mad dash for the door; pushing and shoving all those who got in their way. Full on fights started as people had a hard time leaving all at once. It was pure chaos, all except one woman in the back. She'd been there for some time, ordering very few drinks, all with low alcohol content. As she gazed upon those in the room her eyes eventually landed on Val, and stayed there. If Val were to catch her gaze it was as if the woman were staring directly into her soul. In the midst of the panic she calmly stood and crossed her arms, waiting.

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Tue 19 Jan 2016 - 23:26

Confusion is the primary emotion dominating Val's thoughts at the moment. Panic doesn't cross her mind, at least not right this second. She looks down at her hand again, noting to herself that the wound doesn't hurt at all -- strange. Blood drips from it down to the floor, sizzling quietly as it hits...

...and then it clicks. The pit of her stomach sinks with a detached sense of dread, and she shakes her head, keeping her breathing even. Her lack of response is probably making things seem worse, but now more than ever it's hard to force something that's not quite there. Sure, she's not happy that she's killed a man. She feels preemptive sympathy somewhere in the back of her head for his family, and a sense of regret.

"It wasn't on purpose," she states flatly, as if it'll make any difference -- to the dead man, to the panicked onlookers, to Frank, to the very specific woman staring at her.

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Wed 20 Jan 2016 - 15:31

As the confusion was taking its toll on Frank's behavior, he suddenly has a moment of clarity after seeing the woman standing with her arms crossed. While he didn't really understand what had happened at first, he realized about what was going on after that point.

Val did something that caused the man to die, people started running, and now she seemed to be bleeding acid blood? And continuing on in that same moment with Val stating that she didn't do it on purpose, and combining that with the woman...

Frank realized that maybe the woman knew this would happen. Maybe... Val was an Alpha?

He quickly turns to the woman, making all the assumptions in the world:

"I-I'm a witness! She didn't do anything on purpose! It was an acci-d-dent!"

Frank sputters out, waving his arms passionately. But he quickly realizes that he basically confirmed that she was an Alpha, and did in fact do something, accident or not.

"Er... we were toasting! The glass slipped and!... something happened! Val didn't do anything!"

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Thu 21 Jan 2016 - 13:20

It was clear from the way her face twisted that she was not in the mood for excuses. Carefully the woman stood and uncrossed her arms; her right arm extending forward. In a moment's notice one could see a thin metallic frame form around her arm from under her blouse. The center of her palm started to glow as the obvious was confirmed; this woman is part of the Honour Guard-

And Val is her quarry.

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Sun 24 Jan 2016 - 0:54

Val glances over towards Frank, gesturing her non-wounded hand towards the door. She knows full well what's about to happen, and still seems relatively calm in the face of everything. Sure, she doesn't want to fight, or at this point likely be killed, but she'll take this one step at a time. What happens happens. "Go, Mr. Sorge," she says quietly. "You didn't do anything."

Then, repeating herself somewhat as she addresses the Honor Guard woman, she turns: "Please don't give him any trouble. He's just an onlooker."

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Sun 24 Jan 2016 - 2:27

Frank calmly steps between the Honor Guard and Val. Without taking his eyes off of the Honor Guard, he states calmly:

"With all due respect miss, you didn't do anything either. I'm not leaving."

He slowly clenches his fists, not with the intent to fight but with determination. He knows what may happen if he comes between the Guard and this lady, and it's just that reason that he will not abandon her.

A drop of sweat rolls down Frank's forehead. The situation was grim, but, he'd been in similar situations before. The difference this time, is that it wouldn't be resolved with violence. He wasn't at war, he was trying to prevent a war, no matter how little or how few involved.

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Sun 24 Jan 2016 - 19:13

The Honour Guard looked unphased as she replied without skipping a beat,"My only regret is that you murdered during my break..." With that a light hum could be heard as she focused her palm towards Frank. While it was only for a moment he felt as if the lightest amount of moisture across his skin evaporated all at once, a light steam coming off his skin. Needless to say, this hurt. A lot.

Strangely though, even as Val watched this and noticed steam come off her skin as well, she felt nothing. Noticing Val's lack of reaction the Honour Guard lowered her arm, puzzled.

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Tue 26 Jan 2016 - 1:32

"AH!"

Frank yells as he jumps out of surprise and pain, briefly losing his balance as his feet attempt to right themselves. He briefly hugs himself, grabbing his body and chest area, shocked at what he felt. Frank quickly pats himself down and exhales.

"Hhhh... Uh... Wow... That... that was hot. But..."

Frank rights himself and takes off his jacket, holding it folded over his arm. He is wearing a T-shirt. Clenching his fists again, he stares at the woman with determination.

"I'm still not moving. Sorry ma'am."

Frank stands his ground, more defiant than before.

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Tue 26 Jan 2016 - 1:46

Judging by Frank's reaction and the identical steam that evaporates off of her own skin, Val knows she should definitely be feeling something that just... isn't there. Well -- that's new, at least in the physical realm of things. She takes a quick moment to glance down at herself, checking over for any physical signs of damage, and when she finds none, looks back up, moving to try and nudge herself in front of Frank, looking him over in the process.

"Are you okay?"

Then:

"There's a distinct legal difference between murder and involuntary manslaughter," Val notes to the woman in front of them, a little too casually. "As in, there was no intent behind what happened. Not that I really think that matters to you."

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Tue 26 Jan 2016 - 1:55

If a face could read as 'ellipses' as hard as this woman even the blind could tell. Without changing her face she rose her palm to chest level and instead continued firing the microwaves, pulse after pulse, but aimed at Frank. Her other hand extended as mechanics started to form around that one as well, this time looking slightly... Different. Thankfully by this point most of the crowd had left the establishment.

Subject: Re: Bloody Mary, Please Tue 26 Jan 2016 - 2:16

Since by this point Frank understood what occurred a little better, he was mentally prepared. Regardless of the pain, he stayed where he was, firmly planted. Attempting to show as little weakness as possible, he still failed to contain the pain entirely as he visibly clenches his teeth and twists his face as he is bombarded with the radiation over and over. However, he stays where he is, refusing to move or submit.