Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was like deja vu for Marcus as he entered the once more empty bar. However, Hunter was no longer manning the bar counter. Putting away his cellphone after his quick text to Kerrigan, Marcus took a seat by the empty counter and glanced around the place, wondering where all the folks vanished off to. In a few moments, the strong old man appeared from the backroom where the hidden Hunter compound was and smiled upon sight of Marcus.

"Back so soon? Want some more of Hunter's ole gasoline?" The Hunter gave a toothy grin, though his heart didn't seem to be in it all the way. This trouble Marcus some as he put his elbow on the counter and glanced at the bar for a bit.

"What's the matter? Somethin' happen?" The younger hunter asked as he let his gaze fall on the bartender. The old man sighed as he pulled out two clean glasses and filled them with a mysterious brown liquid. Marcus attempt to hold back disappointment at the choice of alcohol they were going to drink. Sliding the drink to Marcus, the old Hunter raised his glass and swallowed its content whole.

"Edith is down there in the infirmary. Got herself a vampire friend hurt. Doesn't look too good, but Doc assured me he'd be alright." He shook his head as he refilled his glass while Marcus took only a small sip of his drink, relieve washing over his face as he realized it was just regular bourbon. "Anywho, I'm worried. Afraid of what's goin' on about 'ere. Edith pregnant and runnin' a muck against the baddies. Got me worried. Though she reminds me of her brother, I still see her as a daughter of sort." Once more, the aged man swallowed another shot of the bourbon.

Marcus took a quick gulp of his drink and nodded his head in understanding, sensing the fatherly pride and worry the man carried. "Eh, I'm pretty new here and have run into Edith only once. From what I can tell, she looks pretty strong and can hold her own well enough..." In fact, I didn't even know she was pregnant... This thought caused Marcus to unconsciously take another gulp of his refilled glass. He looked at Hunter and gave a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. No one said the life of a Hunter was going to be easy. But if anyone can pull through it, it's her. Leave it be and let the fates have their way..." Waving a dismissive hand, Marcus chuckled his glass empty once more. Though this time, he felt a little light headed. Apparently bourbon was never meant to be taken like shots and now the younger hunter knew why.

"Yer right when yer right. I guess I should just let her hand her own sh*t and what not. Yer an easy man to talk to, Mr. Marcus. Anywho, betta slow down on the drinkin'. Ya lookin' a tad tipsy..." The man held a concern look as Marcus sighed as his eyes slowly became bloodshot and his center of balance seemed to be constantly shifting.

Smiling, Marcus once more waved a dismissing hand at Hunter, shaking his head. "Nah. I can hold my liquor. I'm not a noob to this..." He said, not realizing he was slurring slightly. Hunter grunted in amusement as he shook his head.

"Whatever ya say, lad." With that, the man filled the younger gentleman's glass with water. Marcus gave a nod of thanks as he began to drink the tasteless liquid. "I think I oughta just feed ya water fer now on." Hunter mused as he then went to washing his glass of his bourbon. Marcus chuckled and shook his head.

"I told you. I can hold ma liquor..." With that, Marcus sighed and began sipping the water, staring absent-minded like into space. Hunter laughed and shook his head, somewhat glad to have some company in the bar, though he doubt Marcus would be talking much in his intoxicated state.

"Wat? Er...I mean, Yeah. Yeah, I totally understand...but wait...what?" His voice seemed to drop to all kinds of tones as he attempted to comprehend what was being said to him. Marcus shook his head as he inhaled deeply then expelled the air quickly. "Boy, I really don't think we were suppose to drink that bourbon like shots..." The man clarified, glancing at Hunter, who wore a greatly entertained expression at his face. Glancing at Kerrigan with a warm smile, he quickly prepared her a drink and since their new accommodations with certain species, he had a patch of O negative in a tiny fridge beneath the counter. In a matter of minutes he had a glass filled with the crimson content, ready for her liking.

"Yer friend 'eres been keepin' me company. Quite a good lad, that is if he could hold the liquor..." The bartender commented as he then let out a strange sigh of relaxation. "I'm glad to see ya back, lass. It's been too long." He continued as he gave her a look that could only be described as paternal and caring. Marcus chuckled as he shook his head at the barkeep and waved his hand dismissively.

"Puh-lease. I can hold my drinks. Why, give me some of your old 'Gasoline'. I betcha I could drink you, Kerrigan, and anyone else under the table!" With that, Marcus finished his glass of water and slammed the glass onto the surface, violently sliding it to the barkeep. Be it the experienced hunter's trained instincts or luck, Hunter caught the empty glass and gave the younger man a devious gaze before looking over to Kerrigan.

"Boy...he startin' to remind me of some folks 'ere." Reaching beneath the counter, the fifty something year old man filled the glass up with the mysterious brown liquid. Skillfully he slid the drink back in which Marcus skillfully caught it. Glaring at it like a new opponent, Marcus inhaled deeply and puffed his chest out. He glanced at Kerrigan, nodded his head once and then took the mystery liquid dubbed "Hunter's Gasoline". Slowing his breathing, Marcus took the dive and swallowed its contents down. Hunter whistled as he shook his head at the sight.

"Lass, I'd watch it. I don't think yer friend is gonna be feelin' well after that..." And as soon as he called it, Marcus grunted as he slammed the empty glass onto the counter. Beating his armored chest with his fists, the young Hunter gave a manly roar before suddenly leaning back and landing onto the ground, past out. Hunter broke into a laughing fit as he leaned over the counter to check on the man.

"HE'S OUT! HE PASSED OUT! HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! WHAT A MAN! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The old man then began mimicking Marcus final battle cry and beat his own chest before glancing at Kerrigan with curiousity. "Boy..." He managed to mutter, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "I haven't seen a kid this silly since...heh." He winked at Kerrigan before taking the empty glass of Marcus and begun wiping it.

"Yer gonna help yer friend up? I sure the Hell ain't." The aged hunter laughed as he went about cleaning the glass then the counter around where Marcus was drinking.

((Hope it's alright if I played out Hunter's part *shrugs* Figured he would add entertaining insight or something...))

The sound of a revving engine and techno echoed down the street, as a jet black 2009 Corvette Stingray tore down the street. The black beauty skidded to a halt in front of Hunter's, and pulled into the garage. Emerging from the car was a man wearing black tripp multibelt pants, a black belted vest, under a black belted, hooded trench coat, with a pair of steel toed, plated ground stompers, with a cowl rising from the vest, covering his lower face, and a pair of red mirrored sunglasses on.

The figure walked up to the doors of Hunter's bar, and lifted his right hand. The bouncers looked at his hand, and stepped aside. The figure pushed the door to the bar open, and walked in.

He looked around, and noticed no real change. The bar was still undergoing 'renovations.' He walked into the hidden ladderway, flashed his hand at the camera, and the door unlocked. The figure let his body fall into the hole, not bothering with the ladder's rungs.

[exit to Haven]

Kerrigan walked though the trap door that led down into Haven, tossing her hair over her shoulders. She was furious, though it wouldn't all show - most would only see a minor agitation. Hunter gave her a concerned look from behind the bar, the huntress waving it off as she walked though the front doors and into the street. One hand went to her head, the other resting on her hip as she tried to make sense of everything that was going on. She spent so much time getting over Krii - getting to where she didn't think about him every moment of every day. When he left, she had never been angrier at a person, and at the same time she had been sure when he came back things would be the same with them. Yet, all these months later, she was still as angry with him as when he first walked out their door, convinced that he had to do whatever he was going to do by himself. Reliving the encounter in her mind was enough to cause her fangs to elongate slightly in anger, her attention turning to a figure sitting around 10 feet from the entrance, smoking a cigar. The huntress walked over to Veroen, stopping a few feet from him with her arms crossed over her chest. She was glad he was here - at least now she had a distraction so she didn't get consumed by her thoughts once more. She was better than this - she had learned to be better than this.

"Why are you out here?"

"Well, he means well. He's just doing his job. Anyways, I'll get you inside. Maybe we can talk to Edith about getting you an ID or something," she said, looking at the tall man before her with softening eyes. Their first meeting might not have been pleasant, but since then he seemed like he was an alright guy. Motioning for him to follow her, the raven haired huntress turned and walked back towards Hunters entrance, looking at the two bouncers as she approached. Her eyes lingered on Ace, the huntress tossing her hair over her shoulders as she paused in front of them.

"It's alright boys, he's with me. And he's Edith's significant other, so I might get used to seeing him," she said, grinning at them as they motioned for the pair to go on ahead. Waving her hand through the air to signify Veroen should go through first, she gave Ace and Queenie a small wink before she disappeared into the bar after their vampiric guest.

"Welcome to Hunters," she said, drawing near Veroen once the door closed behind them. She patted his shoulder as she walked by, heading towards the bar where Hunter stood, cleaning glasses like he always did. Kerri had a theory that the glasses were never really dirty - he just liked to have his hands busy after years in the field.

"Hey old man. I need a drink," she said with a fanged grin, slipping into a bar stool as the bartender went to work making her normal drink. She loved how he didn't ask questions, even if his eyes did keep flashing over to the vampire she brought into the bar.

Noelle walked into Hunters, smiling brightly at the bouncers outside as she passed. They looked a little confused - she had every appearance of a civilian, but her Hunter ID was enough to gain her access.

Her natural blonde curls bounced around her shoulders as she stepped into the bar, her street clothes even looking nicer than most people would wear on a weekday evening. Her jeans almost touched the floor, even if she was wearing a pair of black, peeptoe pumps. A sleeveless black shirt graced her top, the buttons in the front glistening ever so slightly in the light of the bar. A few silver bracelets graces her left wrist, the bangs of her hair braided and pinned back from her face to give her a put together, yet cute appearance. Taking a deep breath as she saw tow women at the bar, a rather tall man standing just inside as well, she knew it was time to get to work. Putting on her normal, bright smile, she approached the three of them, tossing her hair over her shoulders as she tucked her hands into her back pocket.

"Well, good evening! I'm Noelle Brock, looking for Haven. This is the right place, right?" Her voice was perky, while at the same time professional, the woman adjusting the purple tote bag on her shoulder as her crystal blue eyes traveling between the two patrons of the bar. They would note something comforting about her, even if they had never met before - Noelle tended to make people comfortable - confused, but comfortable.

Marcus was returning from work, his tie loose and his top buttons of his button up undone. Letting his jacket flap in the wind, the weary looking Hunter just returned from his first day of work as the new Project Manager for his accounting firm in New York. Already he had an interesting first night, now his first day and Hell has been unleashed with multiple failures due to employee incompetence. A sigh escaped from the man as he glanced at the sign that read "Hunters". A weak smile spread on his face as he walked past the first line of defense, the man named "Joker" then walked up to the door.

"Howdy." The businessman uttered as he looked at the pin code and tapped in his assigned code. Ace, the lead bouncer and guardian of the Haven entrance gave a weak smile and nodded to the man out of courtesy. It wasn't long for him to return to a stoic state of the ever vigilant guard. Marcus didn't blame him. His job was probably harder than a Project Manager.

Once inside, Marcus instantly recognized two familiar faces as well as a few newcomers. Bearing a welcoming grin, Marcus threw his hands out wide and shout. "Awwww You guys waited up and got me a drink ready! Just like how daddy likes it!" His weariness faded some as he began his descent towards the bar near the group at the barcounter.

"Yo, Veroen, what's going on?" His smile beamed as he then looked over to Kerrigan. A wink was given to her as he quickly turned his glance over to the old bartender. "Howdy, Kerrigan. Did you get your rest?" He mumbled while shifting some on his stool. Hunter finished up making a handful of glasses and served them out, one to the newcomer, then one to Kerrigan. Glancing at Marcus, Hunter's grin grew to a point were it was sinister.

"Oi! If it ain't our man...shall I make ya another 'Hunter's special', eh?" The old man's voice carried a high tone of amusement as he then glanced over to the other newcomer who came in all peachy. "Oi! Dear! If yer a vampire, demon, or werewolf, then yer in the wrong place..." The man shouted back before having a glass filled with a mysterious brown liquid made for the businessman.

Weary, Marcus looked at the glass and sniffed it. Bourbon. The dark haired man smiled as he sighed and took a small sip of the alcohol, letting its fiery taste cool his body a bit. "Yes...er...no. No 'Hunter special' for a while..." He replied wearily as he glanced over to the others, letting gaze on Kerrigan fall quickly away.

Turning over his shoulder, the man in the pinstripe suit sighed and patted on the empty bar stool next to him. "Hey! Girl! If I were you, I'd take a seat and enjoy yourself. You've come to the right place." The business man said as he chuckled before glancing over to Kerrigan, but not directly in the eye.

"Oh...I think I left my pistol in your room last night..." Marcus whispered to Kerrigan, carrying a sheepish smile.

Hunter smiled upon hearing the vampire's curiosity. "Don't know if ya'll like it, my friend. Strong drink. Manly drink." The experienced barkeep mused as he glanced over to Marcus, winking at him. Marcus grunted as he took another sip of his drink and looked over to Vereon.

"'Hunter's Gasoline'. Finest drink in New York. Cures all that ails you. Grows hair in your chest. Cleans all matters of grime off of anything. Kills enough braincells that Jell-O would be more intelligent than you." Marcus mockingly laughed as he raised his glass at Hunter. The old man tipped his invisible hat at the salute as he already worked on making a glass for the curious vampire, aware it was only a matter of time before a request was to be made.

"Aye. Like I said. A man's drink." Hunter grunted, amusement in his voice as he finished making it and slid it down to the vampire, knowing well enough the vampire's speed and reflexes would stop it from slamming into the other drink he had prepped for the man. "Aye. First one in the House. Next one yer gonna have to pay for." The man mused as he turned his attention back to his bartending.

Marcus shook his head before looking over to the vampire. "Good luck. Then again, your a smart and old vampire. It probably won't bother you." The business man reasoned as he gave a shrug and another sip of his brown fire water.