Welcome to Gaia! ::

Without any hesitation Jace sat at the bar an ordered himself a pack of cigarrettes and a beer. The bartender began to ask what kind of beer he wanted and Jace interrupted him. "Surprise me with the drink, cowboy killers for smokes." Jace was drinking for effect tonight an didn't care what beverage got placed in front of him, he would either sip on it or choke down swallows of it depending on how it suited his tastes.

As he drank he also almost constantly had a lit cigarrettes dangling from his mouth or fingertips. It was a habit that was forgotten in all the recent training but had come back with a vengeance. As addictions often do. The first cigarrette completely numbed his Mind and his mouth even slightly hung open from the buzz but he soon got used to the rush of nicotine through his body. And he only drank alcohol just enough to make his tongue eager for conversation.

Barely even conscious of the bartender, much less the rest of his surroundings. He was far more preoccupied with getting to the bottom of the bottle and his cherry to the filter. So he didn't notice the fiery haired woman, the one everybody else probably did, but he was oblivious. Even when she closed the gap and asked to bum a smoke there was no spark of recognition in his pre-occupied mind. He held in his hand a now-empty bottle, swirling around the liquid that was no longer there, disdain painting his features.

His eyes remained fixed to the bottle, as he slid the box and lighter with a hand that still held a half spent cigarette between its fingers. he let the box lay between them. "Help yourself, I don' mind sharin'." He grasped his bottle with the same hand, the one with the cigarette, and raised it high, the bartender responded by waving his hand in his direction and Jace set the bottle down raising the cigarette to his lips slowly, calmly, he imagined it might even be described as graceful if grace could be used to describe such a thing.

With no bottle to occupy his attentions he finally decided to take a look at his new bar neighbor. And there was no mistaking who was sitting beside him. Red, his captain. His face showed surprise for a moment. the alcohol keeping his reaction from being as obvious as it may have been before. The surprise shortly made way, for a small smile tugging at the corneres of his lips. "Well, fancy meetin' you here"

"Drinkin'." a swig from the bottle washed down the dry, sarcastic joke and emphasized the statement. "I thought you were going on an extended trip?" He slid the note he had tucked in his jacket to rest by the box of cigarrettes. Only serving to clarify that he'd read it, she obviously would remember her own words. The cherry of his smoke burned brightly as he took another drag leaning his head back to blow the smoke upwards.

He was glad to see Red but he was confused as to why she would be at the bar, if she was in such a rush to be somewhere. Maybe she had changed her mind? Or maybe just some last goodbye to lumiria before setting off to only she knew where? Another swig of his beer and he turned to face Red elbow on the bar, beer in his hand, edge pressed against his ribs. "didn't you say you had some errands waitin' for me?"

Jace nodded to Red's clarification. He supposed he had been a little naïve to think she'd leave the nation. she didn't exactly blend in anywhere else. Most people wouldn't give her a second glance if she wore a cloak or something, but one, that didn't seem to be her style and two, there was always that one curious person. Who knew how other people would react to a feral in their midst? Other species might live outside Nocturne, but Nocturne was a nation of monsters, it was where Red fit and she new it. And somehow it was where Jace, a human, a species most prayed upon was born and raised, always equal parts out of place and at home.

Red might notice the distant look in Jaces eyes as his mind began to wander.

It was a miracle he had survived to the age he was, though it wasn't in too small a part due to his mother. She had done her best to raise Jace the traditional human way, but there was only so much she could really do or know. But none of that mattered now, he could survive on his own and that was all that mattered.

Then a sudden flame jumped to life between them and died just as quickly. With a downward glance of his eyes he saw that it was the note. an amused smile toyed at the corners of his mouth. He couldn't know for sure if it was what she meant by it, but he took it as a symbolic gesture, a promise that she would always be close. Then she leaned forward, hair falling about her shoulders as she did so, and somehow the pleasant smell of her drifted to Jace. Impressive considering the cigarette smoke. And Jace marveled for a moment at what... who Red was. For all intents and purposes a walking corpse yet she seemed to defy half or more of what you could expect from one. No smell of death, but of a well groomed woman. No rotting flesh, but bruises and discoloration that made it seem as though she had only been in a fight.

"Got ya. Ears have walls and whatnot." Jace eyes narrowed slightly as he caught his mistake. And so the slurring begins. He paid little other mind to it. He saw red drink and Jace simply followed suit. Keeping his eyes on her. It was clear she was thinking about something.

Words of wisdom spilled from Reds mouth after awhile.

Do not be so scared by the promise of defeat that you choose not to try at all.

You will regret it.

Jace smiled, of course it wouldn't do for him not to try. If he ever had something in front of him that needed done, there was a reason and Jace wasn't one to let go of his convictions. "Aw come on you know me better than that. I'm always looking for an opportunity." Jace remembered the time that velox had offered to train two. And he had volunteered to go. To his surprise and embarrassment at the time Red hadn't liked that idea at all and she'd made it especially clear.

But now it was time to go. Jace gathered up his cigarretes and dropped the appropriate amount of money on the countertop He turned to Red, looking her in the eyes showing that he was ready to go. He was very eager to get in the car and hear about these new tasks he was going to complete. Suddenly something occurred to him. His eyebrows pulled a little closer and the corners of his mouth drew in a bit. confusion was subtley dancing upon his face. "When did you get a car?"

This morning, that was when Red had gotten the car according to her. The words sounded as if the was nothing more to be told but her smile told a different tale, though it was one he couldn't understand fully. He wasn't going to ask for a translation. "Im not even going to ask."

simply following Red to her newly acquired car His mouth dropped slightly. This was a NICE machine. He didn't know s**t about cars though so it was honestly likely to be far nicer than he even expected. He followed suit, getting into the car after his captain albeit with far less grace. He was unaccustomed to vehicles after all. And his eyes drank in all the knobs and levers. It was as if he had stepped into a whole new world and the amazement never left his face. At least not till the vehicle began to move, then it was replaced with discomfort and uneasiness. This thing moved fast and it seemed to him like it was too fast.

Luckily he didn't have to focus on it for too long, his captain, his teacher, his mentor and dare he say it.. friend was speaking to him. and it was time for him to speak in turn. "Theres always more to learn." That was the only reply he could offer immediately. as for his plans... he wasn't sure. Each moment of his life was more or less consumed by survival in one way or another. It left little time to think of other goals. But similar to what Red had said, the time was fast approaching when it wouldn't be nearly enough of a feat for him to consider a goal. For what seemed to him a long time he considered what he wanted to do and finally came up with an answer he was satisfied with at least for now. "I want to show that I am capable of being much more than a victim like the city seems to think."

At some point they had wandered to a spot where the succubi and incubi were around. It made him uncomfortable. While he certainly didn't hate each individual, he hated what they were capable of. Robbing people of their ability to resist temptation regardless of what their sexual preference was. He heard a click and realized it must have been locking doors. he'd seen things like that before.

Again Red began talking at first simply agreeing that there was always something more to learn. although far more eloquently than he had. For the second time that night he thought of how contradictory she was as a person. Capable of such brutality when necessary, but not part of her could be called ugly. She understood the naked gritty truth but turned it to poetry when she spoke.

Then she spoke a lot more, making the good point that everyone was a potential victim and that no one was untouchable. At some point he words became more than a simple statement. it grew a little more specific. And in the short moment of silence in the cab he noticed the creaking of letter and he gleaned what it was. She had tightened up out of anger. He just nodded and made a sound confirming that he understood the point she was making and realized he was sitting a little closer to the door.

You are not a dog, you are not a tool. You fight for me just as much as I do for you. That is all that I can ask

A moment of silence and stillness, the weight of the moment hanging heavy on him. "Its more than I could have hoped for earlier on in my life." Now he knew, they weren't just teacher and student, captain and subordinate. They were comrades, people who fought by each other for the benefit of themselves and the other as well. He turned to Red and offered a smile. It was a small one but genuine.