The Gravedigger. Tria 14th, 81381. Jude did not understand love, and she doubted that she ever would. It was all chemicals and reactions, but it was truly something not of the material world. It was as fleeting as the wind – she couldn’t grasp it, couldn’t touch it, couldn’t dissect it or slice or multiply or divide it. She knew the ticking of the clocks, and the spiraling gears, and the passage of time, and she knew the binary lines of zeroes and ones stretching on into infinity. She knew the poison in her blood as well as she knew the blood in the poison. She could read the strands of DNA and the arrangements of the molecules and atoms and cells, but she couldn’t find a god in it. She knew the ink on the paper, but the couldn’t seem to understand the poetry. Jude had never been one for emotion – especially love. She didn’t know if she’d had that with Sari. If one was to watch their relationship – all sex and fumbling touches, rather than cuddling and hugs and kisses, they’d see it to be more lust than romance. Sure, Juju had felt pain after her death, but in the end, she was just another grim casualty to her analytical mind, just another life lost amongst the sea of gray. That was what her life was like. She watched it in memory rather than dreams, as though it were a black-and-white film. A tainted cadence of monotony strung along Jude’s heart as she entered the Gravedigger. She had shed her work clothes a few hours earlier, and now donned a white tanktop accompanied by fishnet armwarmers that ran from her shoulders to her fingerless yellow and black gloves. A pair of pale gray jeans clung to her skinny, long legs, and she put her booted feet up against the granite base of the bar as she sat down on a stool. "Absinthe," she said to the ‘tender absentmindedly, and she ran a cream-colored and begloved hand through her tri-colored hair.
http://shadowlack.com/persona.php?id=1012Maeanu Jethro</a> Rise glass; fill glass, serve and repeat. The basic’s to any bar tender’s routine, and tonight for Maeanu wasn’t going much different. She was still new at The Gravedigger, these last few nights were her testing period to see if she could handle the job, which meant she was doing her best to fit in, wearing a nearly completely black outfit and even some fake piercing in her ears for the extra effect. In truth she wasn’t sure how well she was pulling it off. Pouring a glass full of a bright orange liquid and popping in a few of the house special that sunk to the bottom she carried to drink over to an arden at the far side of the bar, she gave him a smile as she placed the glass down in front of him. Without saying anything he put his money on the counter and walked off towards the tables without a word. She wasn’t surprised, The Gravedigger was known to attract some of the more depressed members of society. Returning back to the center of the bar she squeezed by one of the male bartenders who was flirting it up with someone across the counter and apparently unable to notice there was someone trying to get by. Happy to hear someone call for a glass of Absinthe she quickly grabbed one of the green bottles from the back shelf and filled a glass. “Bad day hon?" She asked while placing the drink in front of her and noticing that the female seemed to be a little distracted as she sat at the bar.
Jude was unmistakably gorgeous, although mouse-like and shy enough to be ignored. Her coat was neither ginger nor brown, but a deep and burnished copper color, and it laid silky against her skin in such a way that men and women would kill for (and indeed they had over her). Her eyes were a startling electric-blue, bright enough to stop one in their tracks. She was beautiful, but she was beautiful in the way that a forest fire was beautiful; something to be admired from a distance, not up close, unless you knew how to tame her. Right behind her, a fight erupted – snarling words, flashing teeth, and a broken oath for first dibs on asking some boy out. As soon as it had begun, it was over, and the two trouble-makers were shoved out of the bar. She licked a spatter of blood – someone else’s – from the back of her hand with a scarlet, cat-like tongue. Then she smiled. The bartender handed her the glass of absinthe, the mandatory 13 sugar cubes already stirred in. "Bad day, hon?" asked the ‘tender, her words shoving her abruptly out of a soft trance. “Yeah," she said, with the slightly guilty look of someone who is attending church for the first time in years and has forgotten which parts to stand up for. Her smile became wider and even more conspiratorial to cover up her blunder. Wait. OHMAHGAWD THE BARTENDER IS REALLY REAAAAALY HOT. “I’d… buy you a drink," she said with a terrible pause between the words. "But I think you’d be able to get yourself one."
Startled by the fight that broke out behind the customer Mae glanced over the thill shoulder to see what was going on. Happy to see that the bouncers had the situation under control all she could do was shake her head. Maybe it was the booze, maybe it was just raw emotion that caused the fight over the boy, either way, Maeanu didn’t understand what other ‘dragons would do for their so called ‘love’. Things having calmed down she brought her attention back to the female in front of her who she had just caught a glance of her licking the back of her hand, ‘Blood fetish?’ she thought with intrigue. Looking at her face she was nearly shocked back by the intensity in her eyes. She hadn’t gotten that good of a look at them the first time and now they were jumping out at her which made her realized that the thill sitting in front of her was a little nicer on the eyes then some of the other pendragons she had seen drift through here. Before she was able to say some sort of general encouragement like ‘I’m sure tomorrow will be better.’ The girl she’d buy her a drink if it wasn’t already easy enough for her to get one herself. She was a little taken aback, it was one thing to hear a drunken arden twice her age say that to her, but a young hottie was a whole other matter. She couldn’t help but smile. “Well I’m not really allowed to drink on the job, but I get off in half an hour if you’re willing to hang around, after that I’m all yours." She found herself extremely hopeful that’d she’d say stay. Before she said anything else the male bartender seemed to have bumped into her with a jolt forcing her to turn around. “What the hell Leon, can’t you see me standing right here!" She shouted at him, then suddenly stopped, that wasn't like her, well it was, but not the work version of herself. She couldn’t explain why she had needed to tell him off like that. Thankfully he didn’t think anything of it, merely growled at her and stomped off. “Sorry ‘bout that, not sure what came over me. Any ways, if you’d like to stay tell me about your day, I’m all ears." Picking up one of the many rags that were under the counter she started to wipe things off to stay busy while still staying in the thill general area.
Jude inhaled deeply, and nursed the absinthe. What hit her first was the smell. It wasn’t a bad smell. And it wasn’t just one. It was tremendously layered, a patina upon progressive patina of odor, the actual source of which had long ago evaporated. If Jude was to give it a name, he would call it the scent of history – a composite of alcohol, smoke, sweat, blood, flesh, and semen, as well as joy, sorrow, rage, vengeance, fear, love, hope, and a whole lot more. She was so tired. Sleep had been stalking her for too long to remember. Inevitable, she supposed. Like a beast crouched in the shadows, she lounged against the bar, muscles a twitch away from suddenly bolting. She stared ahead, even as her blue irises were dilating – and by the widening fire, the glowing furnace of witness, a camera lucida – a thill in silhouette. She looked up suddenly, her alcohol-threaded inward musings suddenly broken. "That’d be great," she said, eyes bright like those lost pieces of seaglass you find on the beach. Diamonds in the rough. "But... yeah. I work in a lab. I get caught up in my job alot, and one of the people there was pushing me around today." She shrugged, taking a long sip of the acid-green drink. It burned like fire, but the path it left was ice. "What's it like working here?"
The sounds of the club started to get louder as it got darker outside, the rhythm of the bass was strong enough that you feel it inside your body, like a whole new heartbeat. That was the only aspect of the heavy music that Mae enjoyed, it made her feel like she was living to a whole other tempo, or that if her heart would stop right now the music would keep her heart beating. Now if only the strobe lights would slow down it wouldn’t hurt so much to look out at the dance floor. She had momentarily turned around to grab a bottle of vodka for a patron while still in listening range, before returning to the conversation. “A lab, eh? Let me guess, you’re a rocket scientist?" She said with a bit of a smirk. She tried to picture the thill in front of her in a lab coat, it wasn’t as hard as she thought it would be, and if anything, she’d look just as gorgeous in the long white coat. “You can’t let the big guys push you around, if I’ve learnt any helpful tips from my few jobs that’s the main one. If you don’t stand up for yourself they won’t stop." Ahh, cliché words of wisdom, but what could she say, sometimes they worked. “Hmm, working here, I may not be the best judge, it’s only my third day." She shrugged trying to get her thoughts of the Gravedigger together in her head. “The outfits aren’t my natural “style" nor is this the crowds that I’d first choose to hang out with. But…", she paused, sighing slightly. “it’s better than the last bar I worked at, at least here the staff is nicer and the pay is way better." After all that she quickly glanced around to make sure that none of the other worker overheard her. “You know, if you ever got too fed up with those scientist fellows I’m sure you’d probably be able to make it as a bartender." She said with a wink and a smirk.
Internally, Jude was stumbling on her ascent of the mountain - a question repeated like a song stuck in her head, an unwanted cadence clogging her ears and mouth and nose, suffocating her slowly. She won't want you. The words were familiar. Jude didn't like this. Didn't like it at all. So long as the absinthe ran through her veins, she’d be free to let go of her taboos and maybe even have some fun. It was simpler when the world was blurry. Ah. That was it. Sari had said that. I'm going to be a star, you'll see. I'll be so big that I won't want you anymore. It was odd how such little things stuck in one's memory like that. Like cookies. Websites. Passwords. Codes. Encryptions. Jude frowned, taking another sip of the green liquid as she listened to the ‘tender speak, though her heart was in her throat and her stomach was dancing something crazy; she didn't understand it. She was the queen of composed. Ruler of cool. And her girl had her heart shaken? "I’m more into genetics and chemistry," she said, nodding, brushing a few strands of hair behind her ear and running three fingers through her bangs. "My name’s Jude. You?"
Lost, that’s the look that Mae noticed in the thill eyes every now and then, lost in thought. Scientist probably thought more then most people during the day, but it didn’t always have to be about science. She knew that when she wasn’t at the bar it was most often the one thing she didn’t want to think about. So what was troubling her now if not for her co-workers? “It’s a pleasure to meet you Jude, the name’s Maeanu, but everyone just calls me Mae." ‘Or new girl’, she thought to herself, it seemed the owner here at the Gravedigger was unable to grasp most peoples names. “Genetics and chemistry, a little too complex for me. I prefer the simpler things in life." She said sliding a glass down the counter towards and open hand. “But I guess depending on how you look at it, chemistry is one of the most basic things in life." She may not have done overly well in her chemistry class but she understood the basic, how everything was made up from tiny molecules. “You’re not working on something really cool likes clones are you? But I understand if you can’t say anything if it’s top secret government work." If chemistry and genetics was what she was more into, maybe she could get her to talk more openly about that.
“You’re not working on something really cool likes clones are you? But I understand if you can’t say anything if it’s top secret government work." As if the mechanism in her brain that translated from English to whatever script was read in her head was malfunctioning, the phrase didn't compute. She sat silently for a moment, her mouth opening and closing once like a fish out of water, but as Mae's words slowly sunk in, her response too was slowed - everything played out as if she was swimming in a sea of cement. Lifting her head off of her hand, Jude leaned back into the couch and crossed her hands, the back of them resting against her forehead as her sea-colored eyes fluttered shut. A thought then occurred to Jude through the cloud of her relief, and with an artful raise of her brow a question blurted from her lips without being properly considered. "They already make clo - " She stopped. It sounded odd. Ineloquent, especially for Jude, but she couldn't find a way to get words to convey her meaning today for one reason or another. Maybe she had a virus. Then she realized exactly what she had said, and cursed under her breath in Ramathian. "Oh, fuck," she hissed darkly. "I never said anything about clones, okay?" she said desperately, clutching the edge of the bartop until her knuckles went white.
Waiting and watching Jude process information was painful, but not in the way you’d think. She didn’t mind the wait, but the way she moved, placing the back of her palms on her forehead and not to mention the way her eyes closed, for a moment Maeanu thought Jude was going to fall right out of the chair. She was happy to see that the moment seemed to have passed, but not necessarily for the better. She looked on as Jude seemed to fumble with the right words for what ever it was she wanted to say. “They already make clo –". Anyone could figure out what the end to that sentence was, and even thought Mae had been the one to put the topic out there, she had not been expecting that sort of response. It was enough to make her stop sorting the cups in front of her. Not only that, but the way she acted afterwards made her worry. It was too early for the alcohol to have had a big enough effect to make her start sputtering secrets. Looking know she saw the white knuckles gripping the counter, almost as if she was fighting to hold herself back. Putting down what she had in her hands Mae reached over and placed her own hand over one of Judes’ hoping to comfort her in some way. “Jude, don’t worry about it. I’ll forget I ever asked, it’s not the end of the world. We can change the subject. How ‘bout this, next drink is on me." She smiled slightly hoping to calm her down a bit.
ooc. ungh. i can't seem to make my inspiration for this thread go anywhere. if you really mind that i ended it, just say so, and i'll edit it out. ic. Jude loosed her grip on the counter, swept her damp hair from her face, and nodded weakly to Maeanu. Absinthe was higly alchoholic, more so than other liquors, and it was probably this which had caused her to loosen her black-studded tongue. Her mouth fumbled and groped, trying to carve something out of the air with her breath, until finally, her mind hit the railway station and dropped her head off. The lights flashing across the bar were the antique green of an old computer moniter, and caught in Jude's tri-colored hair, it seemed, for a moment, that her hair was ablaze with a halo of unholy light. This was her third glass of absinthe, and she almost felt her liver flip like a pancake - she shoved the tall, clear glass away, smoky-eyed and her thoughts heady. "I have -" she groaned, her dead voice scrambling for purchase. "- have to leave. Call me, pleaaase." She left her number crumpled in the girl's hand before she left.
<span style='width:100%;font-weight:bold; font-size:10px'>Out of Character</span> <table class='ooc'><tr><td>No, it’s fine, I wouldn’t want to try and force you to write something you don’t have any inspiration for.</td></tr></table> The way that Jude moved to get up and the way the light hit her was almost eerie. Mae knew that as soon as she stood up that she was going to be leaving. She almost wanted to bait her into staying by saying something about how scientist couldn’t handle the club scene, but Jude appeared to really be ready to get out of the club. Mae didn’t want her to leave on her own, and if she wasn’t working she might have made sure that she made it home safe, but leaving now would get her fired for sure. She wasn’t sure what to say as she announced that she had to go, Mae hated good-byes, she never had the right words for the moment. So she just nodded and tried to smile. The yellow thill didn’t open the paper with the number as soon as Jude was gone, instead she just ran it through her fingers a few times before putting it in her pocket. Usually it was ‘dragons asking for her number, not giving them to her, it felt strange. Watching the tri-coloured head of hair disappear across the room Mae dejectedly picked up the glasses and bottles around her and got back to work. The night went on.
