Synopsis
February 21, 2005 - Josephine gets accosted by Orion when he assumes she is buying alcohol for the under-aged Mellie for less than virtuous reasons.
Setting
West Dallas:
West Dallas is a largely blighted area of poverty. Several geared-to-income housing projects are in the beginning stages of springing up along the streets in these neighborhoods. For the most part, the area is classified as 'industrial' and plays home to quite a few warehouses, bars and salvage yards.
Oddly enough, it is also home to the historic Belmont Hotel which rests on a beautifully landscaped bluff overlooking Oak Cliff.
Cast
Josephine:
Rather messy dark brown waves fall a little down her back and frame a face marked by classical features. The expressionable curve of her brows is as dark as the lashes above green eyes, a mostly straight nose and a mouth with full lips. The sharp line of her jaw accentuates the angled hollowing of her cheeks while a little mascara and lip balm are all that is used by way of embellishment - by far not enough to take the eye away from bags underneath her eyes or the tired set of her mouth.
This tall, lean thirty-something holds herself with confidence, bordering on aloof. She's straight of back with curves she is neither showing off nor hiding. She's dressed simply, starting with a black tanktop underneath a moss green zippered vest, which follows the line of her frame closely at first, then falls down to her hips, ending about two inches over brand new jeans. Here the faded denim fits snugly around the thighs, widening a little past the knees. By way of footwear there's a brand new pair of pitch black cowboy boots. A thin silver chain sits quite visibly around her neck with a tiny anchor dangling from it. When outside, a short woolen jacket, also quite new, protects her from the winter cold.
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Mellie:
Though her face is round and full, Mellie's build is rail-thin, making her seem petite even though her height is closer to average for a girl her age. Dark brown hair falls in thick, messy waves, framing her pale face. She's made to look even paler by the dark eyeshadow and blood red lipstick she prefers, as well as her penchant for dressing in dark colours. The revealing clothes show more than just leg and cleavage: she also proudly displays the scars of a fangbanger, with different bite marks marring her youthful flesh.
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Orion:
You see a man in his mid thirties who stands a little over six feet and weighs approximately 180 pounds. One can tell by looking at him that he works out regularly. His face is rugged but attractive, usually with a couple of days worth of stubble on his cheek. His hair is brownish red and cropped short, spiking up a bit on top. His eyes are deep gold and appear to be almost an unnatural shade. He bears a tattoo of a paw print on his left upper arm. When the man speaks, he has a very distinct Irish accent. It is strong, but not to the point that he is difficult to understand.
The man is wearing a tight fitting brown shirt with blue jeans. He has brown boots on and a silver watch on his right wrist. His ears are each pierced with a silver ring, and he has mirrored sunglasses pushed up on his head.
Scene
The bottle Josephine's showing Mellie is the cheapest of Scotch, one that is certain to give the girl a massive hangover tomorrow and most likely screw with the happy buzz she's currently in. Jo picks a Jameson for herself and while Mellie's browsing shelves, she's aiming for the register. Not on a buzz herself this early afternoon, looking like shit more likely.
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Mellie is just too far gone to care at this point, what sort of poison she's drinking. Her browsing really takes the form of aimless meandering, occasionally brushing her fingers over the neat line of bottles, or leaning in to squint at a picture on the label. She's just killing time while Josephine handles the business end of things that she's too underage to handle herself.
___
Josephine deposits the bottles on the counter, but makes a last minute decision and lifts a hand, telling the boy to not scan the bottles just yet. Instead, she walks back to the whiskeys and picks up two more Jameson's. She nods to herself, complimenting on the wise choice she made. More's always merrier.
___
The door to the liquor store opens with the ring of the door bell. He waves to the store clerk who smiles at him warmly. The clerk does not ask for his ID either because he knows Orion or because Orion is clearly in his mid-thirties. He moves forward purposefully toward the cordials section, reaching forward for a bottle of Jagermeister and stopping abruptly. There as a far too young looking girl staring at the deer on the front of the bottle looking slightly inebriated. "Um…You ok there?" His accent is Irish, but not so strong that it is difficult to understand.
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Mellie looks up from her peering, blinking a few times as she's addressed. "Good as I can be, and looking to be better," she replies, her words coming a little thicker and slower than when she's not on something. He gets a little smile, meant to be reassuring, though it's perhaps a little too wan to do that. Noticing movement out of her peripheral vision, she fights the urge to glance up towards the till, to survey Josephine's progress, not wanting to confirm any association until the deal is done.
___
With her back to the pair, Josephine returns to the counter and waits for the total, having some cash in her hands already, but now reaching for her wallet as well. The clerk doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary, though he is keeping a steady eye on Mellie in the store. Shoplifters were never his favourites.
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Orion raises an eyebrow as he grabs the bottle and backs up slowly. “Um…I don’t know about that. Are you sure that you should be in here?” He reaches beside the Jager and grabs some Goldschlager as well. He eyes the girl and looks up toward the register to cath the clerk’s eye. It is at this point that he notices Josephine. Doesn’t he know her from somewhere? He looks around the store and sees no one else, deciding that perhaps these two are together. He walks up to the counter and looks at Josephine suspiciously. “Hello there, dear.”
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Mellie makes no attempt to take anything that doesn't belong to her, not that she's above such acts, but her needs are being looked after, and she's really not in the mood for this to turn into a thing. She just wants to get even more messed up so that the troubling thoughts stay good and gone. "Just … looking," she replies to Orion, giving him a sidelong stare as she realizes she's being eyed. Following him with her eyes as he moves up to the front, she now can't quite help herself from watching what's going on up there, though she keeps her head ducked over a row of bottles.
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Dear? While handing over the required amount -in total- Josephine glances at Orion when spoken to and yes, there's recognition in her bleary eyes, but equally obvious is that she can't place his face, voice, let alone name. "Darlin'," she smirks in return, watching the clerk bagging three bottles of Jameson and one really nasty, cheap scotch.
___
Orion shakes his head and sighs. This one is drunk as well. He glances at the clerk, Josephine, back to Mellie, and back to Josephine. He turns so that he is not facing the clerk and lowers his voice. “You know, you could get into a bit of trouble for that here in America…” He tries to act nonchallant. “How did you get here? You didn’t drive, did you?”
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Mellie is a little bit suspicious as Orion looks back and forth between herself and Josephine, but there's really no doing anything about it, not without giving away the whole game. She is no longer absently studying or playing with the bottles, having gone rather still as she tries to avoid drawing more attention to herself, to raise any further questions that don't need raising.
___
The smirk is leaving Jo's lips and the level look she gives him could be interpreted as, 'You have to be kidding me…'. She accepts the bag and bottles as well as the receipt and tells Orion tightly and with the fakest smile she ever managed, "How lucky for me you're not an American," and in a murmur, "I heard the Irish are /so/ polite…" She looks over her shoulder briefly, calling out, "Mellie? Come on girl, we gotta get back to the hotel."
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Orion shakes his head. «Damn drunken lesbians. I can smell the booze on her. » He looks back to Mellie and frowns. «There is no way that girl is old enough for her.» Orion sighs and places his bottles on the counter, handing the cashier his debit card and frowning at the woman. I’m half American, I guess. What does that have to do with anything?” The cashier seems to either not be paying attention or is purposefully ignoring their conversation.
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Of course, Mellie is often cavorting with beings a good hundred years older, so it's all relative - not that her thoughts are angling in that direction. She finally only moves as she's called to, drifting out from the end of her current aisle, angling to meet up with Jo by the door. Orion gets a suspicious look, and then the clerk a more innocent one. Didn't take anything, see? Her outfit doesn't exactly offer much room to hide bottles.
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Josephine must've swallowed something, because it's obviously going down the wrong pipe, the woman coughing, trying to breathe normally though she isn't managing yet. As it is, holding on to the tinkling bag is an effort in itself. "Everything," she croaks at last, laying an arm around Mellie's shoulders for support - but for all intends and purposes it looks a bit on the possessive side. She steers the girl outside, where the pair appears to pause.
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Orion finishes his transaction and heads outside to where the two women are standing. He stands there and gives them a suspicious glance, especially Josephine. «What is this? She’s trying to get that girl drunk? What a monster. And what about that bartender she was with? Was the bartender too old for her?» He just stands there and stares at them as he ponders. “Again, you’re not driving, right? I think that’d probably be a bad idea.”
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The coughing takes Mellie a little bit by surprise. "You okay?" she asks, allowing herself to be guided out by that arm across her shoulders. Oblivious, of course, to whatever rude thoughts are running amok inside the store. It's probably just as well: she might not be able to resist pushing buttons if she knew. As it is, once they're outside, she drops the good girl act. When Orion joins them, he gets another skeptical look. "Who is this guy?" she inquires of Josephine, as though he weren't standing right there.
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The dark look Orion receives now is carrying a nasty edge when Josephine turns on him, at the same time handing the nasty scotch to Mellie. "Fuck if I know," she answers the girl, then moves to stand right in front of the man, poking a finger at his chest. It's actually shaking. "Listen, I don't need your righteous crap, got it. And for your information, I haven't had a single drop today and it's doing /serious/ shit with my self control, so you will just CAN IT!"
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Orion glances suspiciously at the young girl before Jo steps in front of her. He takes a half step back as the woman yells at him and emit’s a barely audible growl as she pokes him in the chest. «Calm. Calm. Calm. Not worth turning into that thing in the middle of the city over some angry lady who’s into getting younger girls drunk» He takes a deep breath and looks almost shocked as Jo hands Mellie the bottle. “Ok the laws of your country not withstanding, you really might not want to do that right in front of the store.” He shakes his head as the woman says she hasn’t drank anything and leans forward to sniff her slightly, which might be a slightly odd thing for someone to do. «Damn. If only I could smell as well in this form…»
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Mellie takes the bottle, holding it by the bottom, so that the body of it is tucked up between her arm and her body. It's not exactly hidden from sight, but it's less obvious, at least. She can't help but smirk a bit as Josephine goes off on the guy, leaning slightly to one side to peer around the angry woman at the nosy guy. "You really should mind your own business," she states lazily, since everyone is apparently in the mood to hand out unsolicited advice.
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"You haven't /seen/ me angry yet!" Josephine tells Orion, the level of her voice rising though. But he does have a point and the growl is tickling her focus for a short while at least. She turns her head to nod to Mellie, "If you want, 103B's mine, you can wait outside." There's a twist of her head to the Belmont across the street. "If not, you be safe, neh. No more beefy assholes." Another poke at Orion's chest, telling him to stay put. "Tell me you didn't just /smell/ me?!"
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Orion looks around the woman toward the girl, giving her a shake of a head and a look that says 'Let the grownups talk'. He eyes the dragon woman as she becomes increasingly irritated and backs up just slightly as she pokes him again. He doesnt growl audibly this time, but one can be heard in his thoughts. It takes him a moment to regain his focus and realize what the woman had asked him. "I…Wanted to make sure you didn't reek of alcohol. All I could detect was an air of bullshit." «Damn, I need to watch doing that so much in public. People don't run around sniffing each other generally. Just a matter of time before the media picks up on my kind and then everyone'll be like "Hey, that Orion fellow is always sniffing people and chasing squirrels."».
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The look that Orion gets in return, if it says anything, would be filled with a slew of colourful and creative phrases. Mellie's features smooth slightly as Josephine addresses her, though her thoughts are still moving sluggishly, and she has to actually follow the gaze to the hotel across the street before she can figure out what exactly is being offered. There's a faint smirk to the advice of avoiding the burly jerks. "Okay," she says simply, nodding her head once. She can't promise to steer clear forever, but at least until this current source of alcohol goes dry. There's another glance to the hotel, as she tries to decide whether to take the woman up on that offer or just disappear into the ether. Though she's kind of enjoying listening to her yell at the nosy, annoying guy.
___
Josephine eyes Orion as if she can't believe what he's saying and it shakes a sore point inside of her, the self control fraying even further. The hand not holding the bag now grips his chin and she squeezes rather viciously. "Yes. You. Do! And I don't give a shit if you're humping mammals, but you keep your damn ugly nose out of me and mine. You got that." Seething now, she releases him.
___
Orion is about to say something to Mellie when he is grabbed by Josephine. He growls again and tries to jerk free before she releases him, his eyes glinting red for just a moment before he manages to cool himself down once more. “You really shouldn’t do that. It’s terribly unsafe.” «Though a bit of terrible luck might do this bitch some good.» He rubs his chin and spits at the ground near her feet. “What the Fuck are you talking about?” He has no idea that psychics exist let alone that she can read his thoughts. “What the fuck does that even mean? You are CLEARLY drunk and delirious.” «Crazy psycho bitch. My nose isn’t ugly.»
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Mellie is caught a little by surprise as the vehemence of Josephine's response. She must really not like bullshit. The girl's eyebrows arch, and she takes a slight step back, not out of fear, but just wanting to be out of swinging range of any collateral damage. It's a lot to take in when her thoughts are so fuzzy. "Dude, be cool," she mutters, about the only bit of helpful advice she can offer here. This is all his fault after all. Josephine was nice to her and bought her booze, and so Mellie is wholly on her side in this. Even if she's having trouble figuring out the context of the woman's responses.
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The red eyes startle Josephine more than the growl this time, there's a snap when she closes her mouth and a deep, deep suspicion dawning in her eyes. And she demands the oddest thing of him, moving herself right under his nose -deep into his personal space-, "How do you feel about tigers." Mellie's words register faintly and not daring to take her eyes off Orion, she asks the girl, "Sweety? Maybe it's better if you go, neh."
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Orion is taken by surprise, his rage ebbing into severe annoyance as she leans in so close. He pulls his face back slightly. “Tigers? What? Why would I have any specific thoughts about tigers?” He eyes the woman suspiciously and wonders for a faint moment…«Tigers? Why would she talk about humping animals? Could she know I’m the Black Hound?» He shakes his head «No, that doesn’t make sense. And she can’t be a shifter or I’d recognize her. And if She were a werewolf she’d be more direct I think.» He peers into her eyes, looking for any sign that the woman might be delirious. He looks past her at Mellie, “You sure she hasn’t been drinking?”
___
This is getting mighty weird now, like some bad trip. Mellie isn't so sure that she can handle it in her current state, plus there's that unopened bottle of terrible liquor, just sitting there useless right now. Such a waste. Which is why she finds herself drifting back another step, nodding slowly to Jo's suggestion. "Yeah, maybe…" But then Orion's question catches her attention, and she arches her eyebrows, simply shrugging her shoulders. "How should I know?" she asks a touch defensively.
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Speechless. It takes a /lot/ to get Jo that far, but she really is. Stunned enough to take a few steps back, right there. But not the unsteady kind of a drunk. "I…" She looks from Orion to Mellie and back again, telling them vaguely, "I need to think, so…" So she turns and walks into the road. Across the street. Right to the Belmont. Just like that, no goodbye, no apology.
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Orion watches the woman as she wanders off across the street. “Um…Ok. Well, you have fun with your…Whatever it is you’re drinking.” He shrugs and brushes himself off quickly. He glances over to Mellie and frowns. “Why don’t you go home girlie? That lady’s cracked. And you shouldn’t be alone outside like that.” He motions to her bottle.
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Mellie watches Josephine depart so suddenly and without warning, her eyebrows lifted in surprise, and not quite sure what to make of that. Only when Orion speaks up does her attention move back to him, and he earns himself an eye-roll. "Just full of great advice tonight. What did you do?" she asks suspiciously, figuring he must be to blame for scaring Jo off like that. She isn't terribly put out, but still.
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Orion gives the girl an odd look. “Um, nothing? You were standing there. She started rambling about tigers and wandered off. How is it my fault if the woman is cracked?” He waves a hand at the girl and sighs. “Fine, if you want to get yourself killed or eaten have fun wandering around the city drunk. I’m going to go back to my house and be drunk in my own home.”
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"I don't know, but you set her off," Mellie points out accusingly, quite content to load this all onto Orion after he annoyed her so much earlier in the evening. But it's a hollow victory, anyway. She doesn't argue his going, just rolls her eyes again at his words. "Yeah, have fun with that," she mutters, turning away herself to go find an elsewhere to get further messed up.
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Orion shakes his head at the girl and turns to head home. “Damn crazy people. Maybe I did set her off, but that doesn’t change the fact that she’s a psycho.” He doesn’t say this to anyone in particular as he wanders off, just mumbling. “Oh well. At least that girl will get home safe…Hopefully. Oh well. Not my problem.” He wanders home for now.
~ Fin ~
