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 Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 5:30 pm
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Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 5:58 pm
 What was it about clubs that had everyone wanting to be in one? The loud noises were bad enough, but AJ could hardly stomach the terrible stench he could only guess was booze. Others around him didn't seem to notice, and he chalked it up to the fact that everyone was too drunk off their asses to smell straight. The flashing lights and the bodies moving erratically were annoying at best, and at most he'd managed to make his way to the bar and order a drink. It was a breeze, he'd already gotten through several bars before, this one was no different.
What was different was the fact that he'd been approached. The woman was older than him, not by much he could guess, but she was...determined. Giving her the cold shoulder wasn't working, and neither was the slow pinning of his upright ear. He'd resorted to turning on the barstool to have his back to her, but in the process had turned to a man that was definitely older than him. It felt like being trapped, and instead of just getting up and walking away, determined to finish his drink, he sat. And smoldered. Ground his teeth and kept his lips firmly pressed closed. Flicked his tail behind him to and fro.
Ordered another drink with a snarl.
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Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 7:45 pm
Lothelion stood in the VIP balcony area, as he was wont to do when he was not down mingling with his club patrons. He liked to watch the club, get a feel for what was going on, make sure that no one was harassing each other, that the mood was right, that the DJ was playing a good mix... and not being distracted by the ghost that hung around him. Sometimes the ghost seemed to make the DJ pause, distracted, because he was suddenly and randomly cold, Loth had noticed. So far, things looked good tonight.
Except something felt a little off. He scanned the crowd, trying to figure out what it was that had his 'manager sense' (as he liked to call it) tingling. Nothing on the dance floor... Nothing near the DJ, not even a girl trying to get him to play a song for boob flashing (though it was a little early, yet, for that... No one was quite that drunk.)... No one at the tables, and he definitely did not feel like there was anything going on up here that was the problem.
So where was it?
He noticed one of his bartenders looking startled, and a little unnerved, as they pulled a drink. Whatever was up, it was probably there. Loth considered vaulting the railing... He did that, sometimes, with wings out. Patrons thought it was 'cool' when he did, he'd found. But no. He felt it was better if he came at the situation a little more subtly. So down the stairs he trotted, past the velvet rope, and towards the bar, where he could see the poor girl handing over the drink to a young grimm hybrid. Loth wasn't sure what the mix was, at the moment, as he was more focused on making sure nothing went down. He slid back, and behind the bar, moving to indicate to Suzy, the bartender, that she was 'on break' now, and he'd cover her area for the moment.
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viatorai rolled 1 20-sided dice:
5
Total: 5 (1-20)
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Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 8:21 pm
Knocking back the drink he ordered in one big gulp, he all but slammed the glass down back on the bar. The aggression and irritation he was enough to cause the man to his right to finally saunter off, finally.
To his left, however, it was a different story.
Droning on and on with an increasingly noticeable slur, the demon woman either refused to see the signs, or just didn't care. AJ hardly noticed when the bartender was replaced, instead choosing to turn and glare at his annoyance. Worst thing he could have done, really, as the glare was seemingly interpreted as interest. All would have been well and the woman would have eventually gotten bored and walked away had she not put a hand on his shoulder.
Feather-light as it was, it was enough to tip AJ's already simmering mood to it's boiling point. He wasn't there to cause a scene, but when growling, ignoring, glaring and trying his hardest to let it be known to leave him alone didn't work...well, it was like a scene was asking to be made. When his initial <******** off!' wasn't enough to get her to remove her hand, and in fact seemed to encourage her to try and wrap her arms around his, all care and subtlety went out the window.
Standing up quickly, he not only yanked his arm, his arm, away, but used the other, still gripping his glass, to shove her away.
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Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 8:30 pm
Loth began to organize glasses near him, keeping an eye on the situation. The other bartenders immediately covered the rest of the space, because all of them knew when a situation was up, Loth liked to be there to help deal with it. So when the Demoness pushed in... and touched the hybrid, Loth went on full alert. Did the idiot woman not read that the kid's body language was SCREAMING 'don't touch me'? What the hell was she thinking, doing that?
And oh ********, the demon was clearly either so inebriated she just did not understand basic hints, she didn't care, or she was trying to stir s**t. Either way, things were clearly going downhill, and fast.
When the boy... gods how old was this kid? Loth might have to have the balls of the door bouncer, cause Loth was pretty damn sure this kid wasn't old enough to be in here... shoved the woman away, the man was grateful she just stumbled back. However, it gave him an opening. He vaulted over the bar, feet flashing between the two until he landed, and he snarled at the demon "OUT. You're 86'ed. Don't come back. And learn some Nine Damned Respect for the wishes of others." He signaled the nearest bouncer, to have her escorted out, while he turned to the kid. "Sorry you had to deal with that. This club has rules about respecting personal boundaries. How about I get you a complimentary drink, and take you upstairs to the VIP lounge, so you have time to cool off, away from the crowd?" There was absolutely no hint of interest that could be called romantic or sexual in those words. It was polite, concerned for the person being harassed, and businesslike.
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Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 8:55 pm
When the demoness stumbled back, AJ prepared himself for a fight. Ready to knock her teeth in, maybe break a horn to REALLY teach her a lesson. The scenario was already playing through his mind's eye, and he was already bracing himself to be grabbed and thrown out. It was inevitable, wasn't it?
But that's not what happened. Everything seemed to go in fast-forward. First she stumbled. The he growled. Then he was blocked by a mass of white, black and green. Words, more people, the people leaving, more words. It blurred for a bit, and when he finally caught up to what was happening, all he heard was 'VIP' and 'away from the crowd'.
Momentarily, his thoughts leapt to the worst case scenario. Only momentarily, as the man's tone wasn't...well. It was professional. concerned. And despite being pissed to all hell, nostrils flaring as he breathed heavily in an attempt to calm himself, he nodded once, curtly.
"Yeah...sounds...good."
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Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 9:12 pm
Loth watched the kid, watched the way he looked furious, then slowly seemed to calm down enough to react without violence. He was glad, because having to 86 two people in one night was never a thing he liked doing. He much preferred to handle most things as peaceably as possible, to be quite honest. It was better for business, and at the end of the day, it was better for the emotional well being of his staff.
When the kid agreed, Loth signaled to Suzy, who'd been hiding nearby... because in this case, take a break had been a code of sorts, and when she came close enough, murmured to her to send up a pitcher of whatever the kid had been drinking to Loth's personal table upstairs.
He then turned back to the kid. "Come on, then. This way, son." He glanced around, then spread his wings, forcing the crowd to give the two of them room. Luckily, since there had been a small incident, people were paying attention and got the clue, quickly. He led the way back to the velvet rope, and up the stairs, before he went to what was, frankly, the nicest of the VIP spaces. Loth felt no shame in claiming it for himself and his guests only. He owned the damn club, after all.
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Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 9:31 pm
Shoving his hands into his pants pockets, AJ kept his head down as he followed who he could only guess was someone who was important in the place. He pared a glance left, right, eyeing the face of those they passed. Some were still too enthralled with the purpose of the club to care about what had happened, but some had clearly seen. Some looked sympathetic, some looked disgusted, and some looked like they might be giggling. He couldn't hear, the music was too loud. Nonetheless, he gave them all a sneer, a snarl, and an overall nasty look. So sour was his mood.
Being called 'son' did have him wary about who he was following. If his I.D. would be examined more closely, because man, he would be in some deep s**t. But, really, it was the bouncer's job, right? Not his fault the bouncer couldn't do their job and it wasn't his fault...Well, it was. It kinda was. But not really.
"Do people normally do that?" He asked, hoping his referral to the demon woman was obvious. His voice still carried a growl in it, despite his best efforts to sound casual.
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Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 9:51 pm
The way the kid acted, the growling and physical posturing... There were mirrors in this club for a reason (Most people thought it was ambiance, and while the mirrors WERE definitely designed to fit into a Goth club like this, they were actually far more than ambiance)... All of it seemed to fit into Loth's theory that the kid was underage.
The question didn't alleviate that, to be honest. In fact, it made Loth even more sure of it. He put that thought on the back burner, deciding how to handle it. The kid was touchy... But he felt like there was more to it than the usual teenage need to rebel. He wasn't sure WHY he felt that way. He really wasn't, but he did... And he wanted to see what the kid would tell him.
Once they were at his table, he gestured for the kid to take one of the couch-seats, and took another... Making sure to give the kid room... before pushing the button that closed the curtains overlooking the main club, and into the main VIP area. The sound was immediately reduced... He'd paid good money for curtains that would do that... and Suzy'd bring the drinks soon. "Just wanted to give you some privacy and relief from the noise, not trying to make you uncomfortable." He said, in explanation about the curtains, before moving on to answering. "And... unfortunately, yes. Not here, usually. This place is known for the rules we have posted above the bar, by the door, and a few other places about respecting the wishes of fellow patrons and the staff. But we still get idiots who don't care, who think they're above the rules, or... are too ********' drunk to think anymore. We usually try to cut them off before it gets that far, but some are lightweights, and some are better at hiding it until too late than others."
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Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 10:18 pm
Again, the worst case scenario surfaced in his sea of thoughts. Pushed down by his hope that it was nothing. It truly was nothing. Nothing to be afraid of, nothing to be pissed off by. Except he was already pissed off.
Instead of sitting down immediately, he watched the curtains shut. He was relieved that the sound was deafened, though at the same time he suddenly felt trapped. It wasn't a feeling he would ever enjoy or want to feel at all, but as his question was answered, his bristling started to tone down. His breathing evened and he started looking more like himself instead of a raging beast.
"Mmnh. Should keep a better eye." He scoffed before flopping down on one of the seats and making himself comfortable. "That lady better send you a ********' thank you letter. Woulda beat her face in if you hadn't got her a** kicked out."
Yeah, he was putting up the tough guy thing. You bet your a** he was gonna posture.
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Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 10:36 pm
"A better eye out?" He arched a brow at the kid, for a long moment, and tilted his head. "Do you know how hard that is to do? On an average night, I have 4 bartenders and 8 bouncers, plus the DJ and myself, to keep an eye on all of" he gestured with his hand out to the club. "That. And if you think having more will help... I staff more bouncers then some of the other clubs. But with insurance, licensing for the bartenders, paying them a reasonable wage because I refuse to be one of those douche bags who pays people at the minimum wage, and all the other costs that go into running a club, if I want to actually stay afloat, let alone turn a profit... And this is a business, so a profit is the point, in the long run... I have to balance employee numbers against the budget."
He gave a slight shrug and then tilted his head, so that his bangs hid his smirk. Once it was under control, Suzy had slid in, deposited the pitcher, and 2 cups, and left. Loth poured drinks for them both and slid one towards the kid. "I'm sure you'd have gotten a few good punches. But my bouncers WOULD have been on both of you very quick. They might have missed seeing her nonsense, but they wouldn't have missed that." His expression was quietly serious. "If they HAD, they'd all have been out on their asses. I pride myself on keeping this place as enjoyable as possible for most people."
He leaned forwards, over his drink, and rested his elbows on the table, looking the kid over slowly, in a simply appraising way. "I'm Lothelion, by the way. Loth. In case my little discussion on the economics of running a club didn't make it clear, I'm the owner of this little establishment." He paused, both to give the kid a chance to respond, in case he wanted to provide his own name, and also to consider his next question. After a long moment, he continued. "I hope you don't take this wrong. It's not an attack, nor a judgement. You just... did not seem to be enjoying yourself out there. You seemed angry to be here. Why are you inflicting something you clearly dislike on yourself? And no, this isn't me trying to get you to leave. You're welcome, as long as you don't cause problems. I just don't understand."
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Posted: Fri May 25, 2018 6:53 pm
Blah blah blah. Blah blah, blah. That's all he heard once the other hybrid- Loth- started talking about wage, profit, management...stuff that AJ had no interest in. Things he never bothered to learn about really, that he should pay at least a little attention to. His guess that the man was important was correct at least, and he felt at least a little validated by it.
"It's in my blood, i guess." He responded after taking a big gulp out of the cup. Eyuck. "I mean...My mother always came to these places. Still does I think. So, like, I figured maybe it's someplace I should be. But it's too ********' loud, people are rude, the lights hurt my eyes and..." Trailing off, he looked at the half-full cup in his hands. Alcohol wasn't his thing, and the only reason he was even drinking was to try and find that 'buzz' that he heard about from others. But three drinks in and nothing so far. It wasn't worth it, it was disgusting and only pissed him off more.
"It's ********' bullshit." He growled, mostly to himself. "I'm supposed to ********' like it but instead I just ********' sat there and let those two- wait, those two. Hey." A thought crept up as he remembered the other guy. "I don't think I was drunk enough for that skeevy ******** that was there, you don't think he'd go and find someone who was do you?" His brows furrowed into a worried frown as he finally stopped talking into his drink and looked up at Loth.
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Posted: Fri May 25, 2018 7:07 pm
Loth tilted his head, hearing all of that about it being in his blood, or that he should be here because his mother came to places like this. This was a strange conclusion to come to, especially with the follow about how he didn't like the noise and all... And that it was bullshit. This wasn't at all the way things worked, and Loth wanted to know how this poor ********' kid got so ******** up in the head that he thought that was the case.
This kid... He didn't know what was wrong with him, but Loth kind of felt for him. Whatever was up, he seemed to not have his mom around for some reason, given he spoke about her in a way that sounded uncertain, like he hadn't seen her in a good while. He didn't mention his other parent, but... that could be just happenstance. However, the question had Loth sitting up. "Well, we can check on that, though a lot of people do come to clubs to hook up, so... It's not uncommon to find people hitting on each other."
He slid along his couch to where the curtains blocked out the sound, and opened them enough that they both could see out. "Can you spot him out there? If so, we can keep an eye on him... Though my staff had best be paying good attention. We've already had one incident." There was almost a growl at those words, because clearly he did not approve of even one.
"As for it being in your blood... Clubbing isn't genetic... What's your name, kid?" He glanced at AJ, and gave him a slight look, making it clear he had suspicions about the kid's age... but despite that, for whatever reason, he wasn't, yet, kicking the kid out. "Some people really love this. They love the music, the dancing... Being around all the other people. Some people find it mother ******** exhilarating. Some find it a turn on. There's a lot of reasons people come. But... If you hate it, if you find it not pleasant... There's nothin' wrong with you for that. Everyone has their own thing they like. My parents? They hated this stuff. They were all about ******** music, being proper, and parties where the dances were boring as hell. To me. But they loved it. And yet... This is what I do for a living, because I enjoy this. Being someone's kid doesn't mean you gotta like all the things they do, ya know?"
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Posted: Thu May 31, 2018 9:46 pm
Falling silent, AJ hung his head. There was no reason for him to be so worked up over what was going on in this building, yet here he was fuming over the knowledge that things like that happened more often than not. Was that what happened to his mother? Was that how she met his dad? Was that his eventual fate, to just...be one of those?
Still contemplating, he made his way over to the curtains to peek out. Scanning the crowd, he frowned as he spotted the man finally. "Elf. Maybe a mix, can't tell. The one with the mohawk. Tank top shirt, black slacks. He's got another bottle in his hand." He scowled. "Heading towards another loner at the bar. But I assume your staff can handle it." There was a hint of malice in his voice, but he went no further before settling back down.
Oh. Right. Name. "AJ." He said finally, looking back down at his drink. Again. Listening to what translated to a lecture. He glanced up right as Loth gave him a knowing look. Knowing about what? Oh, right, underage. Not that it mattered to him, he still got in, and he still already had alcohol in his system. Hah.
But everything else...Everything else said made him frown. "I...I mean, she raised me at these places, as far as I know. At least...when dad left she did." Mentioning his dad made his tail bristle. "But I- I don't know. I was raised like that so I figured I should get...used to it. Cuz what the ******** else am I good for. What the ******** else am I supposed to do? My grades ******** suck, I can't get myself noticed by anyone other than my ******** mother who just won't stay out of these places and be a mother..." Trailing off, he downed his drink in one large gulp, making a face immediately afterwards. Gross.
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Posted: Thu May 31, 2018 10:06 pm
He scanned the crowd, and spotted the guy who AJ pointed out. He frowned a little, and started to reach for his phone, but he saw one of the bartenders moving over and addressing the guy. It didn't take long for the a*****e to start yelling... at the bartender. "Yes, I think they can. Suzy, who was the one you were ordering from, is a little new. I'll have to talk to her, get her to work on a little more spine about interfering." Shortly after the yelling, the a*****e was being escorted out as well, as Loth shook his head. "And I need to do some research, we've had a slight upswing in the past week of people we've had to 86 over s**t like this. I wonder if we're being targeted."
He then turned back to the kid. "AJ. Good to meet you." A serious tone, not at all mocking, despite the situation, the age gap, all of it. Loth clearly meant what he said.
He settled back again, and listened to the words AJ was saying, his hands steepled in front of him, thoughtfully. He decided not to comment that the kid could definitely get attention if he wanted it of a certain kind, given how well that had gone before. He had no idea why the kid felt the way he did, but he respected that the kid did not want to be flirted with or hit on. After some consideration, however, he finally said "I think what you should be asking yourself, instead of all of that... Is what do you want from your life?" He was serious again, and his green eyes were catching the light, causing them to glitter just a touch. "Because even if you manage to turn your grades around... And AJ, I don't think you're stupid, so I suspect if you had a goal in mind and a path to get there, you'd do what you must... you would be floundering to find where you want to be and what you want to do. All of these things come to thing."
He sat up very straight and looked AJ dead in the eye. "A foundation to build your life on."
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