deercountry | One Night in Prufrock (Closed)

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One Night in Prufrock (Closed)

Who: Vira-Lorr & Minako Aino
What: Birthday Date
When: 10/22, sometime after Minako celebrates her birthday with her friends
Where: Sapphora

Content Warnings: None, though might update if anything comes up later.

Vira had heard about this place when she'd been in Gate last month for the exhibition matches. The idea of a relaxed nightclub for just the ladies to take a load off after they had been on a hunt or the midst of training seemed kind of heavenly. Admittedly, she wasn't really fighting as much these days, but since when had that ever been a reason for her not to enjoy herself and indulge. So she'd made reservations for a private booth in the club's second floor for today, since the canals... were just not fit for a proper date, not yet anyway. the reservation had been late enough that she'd been sure that the girls would be done with their birthday fun by the time she and Minako were to meet, just perfect whether or not she joined them for that celebration.

She sent Minako the time for them to get together and waited at the nearest of the lamp locations. She waited in a black and red number she had found that she liked a lot along with black satin gloves, and when she saw Minako, smiled and waved her over. "I've only been here once, to have a look around, but I think you'll like it here." Which was a surprising thing to say in Prufrock, but there you went.

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Minako hadn't been sure how to look, so she ended up really going for a simple outfit that fit with where she was, not that she knew much about the place she was going to, but it was suitable for all places.

When she spotted the other she waved excitedly before making her way over.

"I guess it means you know more about it than I do."

She reached out and offered her girlfriend an arm, leaning in to rest her lips against her cheek and whisper 'you look lovely, Minako.' As the affectionate kiss finished, she leaned back a fraction and glanced towards Sapphora. Four stories tall and quite colorful, it certainly seemed an interesting place to her mind.

"Mmm, it's a club just for ladies like us. The first floor's a bit rowdy, but I think you'll like the second and third." She didn't mention the fourth floor or the room rentals. She'd let Minako figure out they were there on her own. As she started to lead them to the door, she grinned easily, already looking a little more relaxed than she usually was. "Have you been enjoying your birthday? Kind of nice to actually be able to celebrate, yes?"

Minako went and held onto the others arm affectionately as she moved to rest her head on the others shoulder as they walked. It was something she had always wanted to do, so why not do such a thing now.

"A club for ladies? Do you mean of a certain way or type considering blood and all that?" She wasn't sure what they meant exactly. But she was soon looking around, there seemed to be a lot going on.

"I mean this is only the second birthday I've had so to speak. So it's nicer compared to the last either way"

"Mmmm, men aren't allowed. It's a regular place the ladies that are hunters like to go to relieve stress. And, well..." As she opened the door for Minako, they could see in where the first floor was a good old fashioned dive bar, with easy access to the stairs upwards. There were pool tables in the back and more than a few women enjoying a pint together. "It's a place where they don't mind at all the idea of two women enjoying each other's company."

As she stepped in, she glanced around. "The bar upstairs is more refined, though if you wanted to try your hand at pool, we could grab a drink down here first." She winked over at her girlfriend. They'd gotten a couple casual glances, one or two raised glasses, but by and large nobody seemed to care. It was just all women relaxing after the day. Some of the women were clearly more than friends, the way that they spoke and got on, while some were much more obviously just chummy. All in all, 'relaxed' seemed to be the main theme to this place. The first floor was just the more rough around the edges sort of crowd. But, Vira-Lorr decided that maybe she'd let the birthday girl decide how she wanted to spend the day. She wasn't about to complain either way, since she got to spend time with her.

Minako looked around briefly. The pool looked like it could be at least fun to play at some point so she made sure to keep a mental note as she continued to follow the other until stopping. Given she seemed calm on the outside internally she was excited at the thought of actually trying pool.

"I mean it wouldn't hurt to have a game or two of pool. Never played it so fun experience never the less."

As soon as Minako suggested it, Vira-Lorr was grinning. "Sure, that sounds like fun. I've only played once, maybe, so you're bound to do better than me." As she said it, she started to thread her way through the patrons, pausing at the bar to get a triangle and balls. Glancing over at the other, she tapped her lips. "Did you want anything to drink? I'll probably get a root beer."

"Nothing quite like a few new experiences for your birthday, mmm?"

"For all I know that could be a lie or you'd be a natural at it." With that spoken she had started to make her way through the crowd making sure to try and stick as close as she could to the other, hand reaching out to take it to make sure they didn't get separated until the destination.

She nodded slightly, before letting go to think about what to have for a drink.

"I think I'll play the game of surprise me."

When she felt the hand take hers, Vira-Lorr smiled back at Minako and threaded her fingers, drawing her through the small crowd. As they passed the bar, she thought about it and ordered a couple virgin strawberry daquiris. It felt like a time for something sweet after all. At the bar, she went to take one of the pool cues and winked over at her, shaking her head.

"I could secretly be a pool shark, and you wouldn't know it until we placed a bet on the game," was her teasing reply. "But I'm not. Though if you wanted to put a little bet down between the two of us, I wouldn't say no." Thankfully, she wasn't actually that good, so they were probably evenly matched, she figured, and it was all in good fun. As she started to work the chalk over the cue tip, she grinned, curious if she'd actually want to do something like that.

Minako happily took her drink before making her way over to the pool table, placing the drink down safely or at least as safe as it could be on the side for the moment while she picked up her own cue.

"Secretly or not, still would be better than me." She could probably learn quickly as the game didn't seem all that hard though at least by sight alone. SHe watched what the other was doing before going to get the chalk to do the same.

"So who goes first, how do we actually decide that?"

Vira-Lorr was using the triangle to set the balls up, staring at them for a moment. She got the order, right? The eight was in the center. Hmmm. Oh wait, Minako had said something. Uh... good enough! Taking the triangle up and smiling over at her, she tapped her lips and took a sip of her own drink, resting the pool cue against the table. "I remember how to break the balls, so I can start us off. I think... we each get to hit the white to try and knock a ball in, but until you get one in, you just get one shot. If you get one in, you can keep going. First one you get in, that's your type. Solid, or stripe... uh, what was ... right, the black ball is last. Always last, or you lose."

Taking the cue, she walked up and offered her drink to Minako to hold, fingers brushing along the back of her hand for just a minute before she got set up. She winked. "Time to find out if I'm holding out on you, mmm?" As she set up the shot, anyone who ever played pool would know that she was absolutely not secretly good at this.

Minako stood there arms folded as she took in or at least tried to take in what was being said. Something about one shot and stripes? Looking at the balls the stripes at least make the most sense and she seemed to understand to some extent as she reached over to get her drink, taking a long sip as she did.

Once she was done with that the glass was back down. "I think I got it. Hot the ball once if nothing goes in then I have to wait. If I hit the centre ball into a hole then I automatically lose. But what if that happens by accident though? I mean there is only so much we can control with this right?"

"If it's by accident, you still lose, unless you've hit all of your colored balls in first. So you have to be careful," she said, pulling back and finally striking the ball. The break was ... well, it wasn't great but it definitely broke the balls up enough that they were good to target. The white ball bounced and came to a spot and she motioned to it while reaching out to take Minako's drink with a wink.

"We can watch each other's drinks between shots. First one to sink picks stripes or color. I think you'll get the rest as we go." She was just glad the eight ball wasn't anywhere near a hole right now.

Minako nodded thinking she at least understood, but there was one thing that she probably should have asked and that was about how hard one should hit the ball. Minako herself was going to take a wild stab at that one.

Walking up to the table cue in hand she had a determined look on her face as she leaned over, ready to take the shot. As she did it was perhaps a little too hard as after hitting the ball it went off the edge instead, causing Minako to step back and laugh.

"Okay maybe that was a bit too much."

Vira-Lorr blinked in surprise and giggled as one of the patrons collected the ball and handed it to her, laughing herself as she walked away. Something about newbies. "Oh my. Well, I can be honest and say I did that once myself," she admitted before walking to one side of the the table and pointing to a dot. "Uh... so if you accidentally sink this ball, it's the other person's turn and they can start it anywhere behind this dot on this line, but they have to shoot to the other side."

Kind of helpful actually that she'd missed like that. Vira-Lorr had totally forgotten that rule. She leaned forward, smirking at her. "We're going to be quite the sight today, I think." When she shot, a striped almost went in but bounced off the edge just next to the hole. She sighed. "Quite the sight, but we're having fun and that's what matters."

"I'm always use to being the centre of attention." She said with a bit of a chuckle mostly to herself. She hadn't intended to do what she did, but well she was still learning. But was at least now quick to pick up on what to do.

So there shouldn't be that many mistakes left to do. SO she stepped back and watched wondering if they were going to sink the first ball which she wouldn't be all that surprised about honestly.

"And you are right, having fun is what matters. So who cares if people are watching, right? Just means were too fabulous."

There was going to be a lot more back and forth with the shots than there would with the others in the pool hall. They knew what they were doing much better than Vira-Lorr or Minako, but that didn't matter clearly. Really, nobody seemed to mind in general and they were only getting casual glances from time to time by customers curious about the new girls. It took a second try before finally one of the solids sunk down. "Ah, looks like I'll be doing these then. You get the stripes," she said, grinning back and winking.

"And I think you'll always be the center of attention. Good thing I'm not the jealous type, mmm?" she said, leaning in to nip behind the ear and wink at her. Her next shot went wide, so it was Minako's turn to go.

"Ohh, the stripes. Got it." They were pretty enough balls at least and it was easy enough to tell which ones to aim for now. Before she had pretty much been winging it.

Minako soon winked back. "I mean being the center of attention is my job, but your my center of attention.

She went to lean over to hit the ball. It went into the hole and Minako seemed happy about it. "Hey, my first ball went in. Is it still my go or yours?"

"You get to keep shooting until you knock one of mine in or miss," she said, leaning against the the table and grinning back over at Minako. "And call me crazy, but while the world stares at you, I kind of love the idea that you would revolve around me in turn. Our own little dance for them to watch." It was actually quite fun in its own way.

"I think I like this place. It's comfortable. The folks are rough, but they're just throwing the stress of the work off. And there's a lot of that stress." She hadn't thought to use the first floor, but it reminded her a bit of an old tavern back home, full of mercenaries sharing a pint.

"If I knock one of yours in, would that count towards you being able to hit the final ball or does it have to come back out?" She was still a learner after all so it was something she figured she needed to check.

"I like this place to from what I've seen so far and I understand the stress. We all have it and its good to relieve that now and again in various ways." She added as she hit another ball but it didn't go in.

"Okay your turn."

"You knock one of mine in, and you're giving me a point," she said, gesturing to the nearest hole. If she looked, it was one of those where the ball kept sliding down until it reached a rack on the side of the table. Handy, to avoid overfilled holes, and since the cue ball was weighted differently, it went to a different hole.

"I think whoever set this place up? They were a huntress with plenty of experience. They must have felt there were experiences only the ladies could share. I bet there's a few guy's clubs like it around Prufrock too." This one was just very popular with the ladies themselves. Her next crack knocked one in, giving her her second, but she wasn't so lucky the next time. At least the rhythmn was coming back slowly.

"It's also nice since it's very much a judgment free sort of place. You can sort of just... be yourself here."

She nodded slightly. Okay she at least fully understood the rules now at least and so she was pretty much okay playing to the best of her ability.

She soon moved to the side so the other could take her shot. "Odds are likely and if there isn't then I am sure someone would open one at least." She wouldn't be that surprised about it honestly. "I mean the men also need a place to just relax after all."

She nodded soon after with a soft smile. "Yeah, though for me I am always myself no matter where I go, so it doesn't exactly change for me. But I can see how it might for others."

"It's one of the things I like about you," she said, the ball bouncing wide while she sighed. Nah, definitely. She stepped out of her way, grinning at Minako while she rested on the cue and talked. "This world is much less uptight than the nightmare was, but those were the memories of someone who lived in an uptight world. You've never been at all shy about who you are or what you want. I like that in a person in general." And in someone she might share part or all of her life with? She really appreciated it.

"Here, they're free? Here, you're still you, just you in this place having fun with me."

Minako went over to start to make her shot, leaning over the table in her attempt. "I mean I get why people might be shy and not themselves, but yeah... I never saw the point in that. The only aspect I ever was was when it came to love interests and that's just funny when you compare to how I am usually."

She had kinda lost count about the number of love interests she ever developed crushes on. Some were more memorable than others, but she remembered them all to an extent.

"But hey it just means it will be interesting to see what this world will try and change that."

"I think how open you are is perfect." As the shot went, she leaned over to whisper in her ear softly. 'And I know why you've been shyer about that one thing. I'm just going to relish how precious that makes you to me.' Oh, that was cheesy as hell, but why not? Sometimes cheesy as hell was appropriate, right? Hopefully it didn't ruin her shot.

"Always the changes, mmm? You never know what to expect around here. We can't even bank on October being awful, heh."

Did it mess up the shot? Yes. Yes it did. Minako's reaction was enough that she somehow managed to completely miss the ball. She was counting that as a loss as she sighed a little with defeat at least for that turn.

"Knowing my luck the worst month will be February now or something."

Vira-Lorr took advantage of the moment to sink probably the easiest of her balls, but her next shot was dangerously close to sinking one of Minako's. So, that was kharma's way of punishing her for teasing like that. As she gave a little huff, she turned and looked over at Minako and smiled.

"Before I met you I didn't really fancy a certain human holiday much. I'm not about to let Trench ruin it for the two of us. February will be a good month for us." Complete false confidence there, but she was sticking to that.

Minako had stayed at the side, watching where each of her balls was. She could see that the other could potentially sink one of her owns and if she did it made it much easier to get another when it's her turn maybe. If she was lucky.

"I guess I'm juts good at making that holiday look good for others. Perhaps I will try that again. Spread the love for others."

Vira-Lorr stepped back as it was Minako's shot, shaking her head. "Oh I just set you up there didn't I?" she said, looking back at her and shrugging. It was all in good fun either way. "Oh you're definitely good at helping others along with the holiday. As long as we save a bit for each other, I'm all in favor of making it as special an occasion as we can. I wonder what Doorway thinks of that one." It was her month after all.

"You did, but it wasn't intentional that I can at least state." It was all in good fun and this wasn't a competition. At least this time anyway. She went to make her shot for the most part leaning over the table and gently hitting it in.

Another one down and now the next shot was a fifty-fifty percent chance of working if done right.

"I don't know, I guess when the time comes we will find out." she answer as she made her next shot. Nearly but no dice.

She waited for the ball to come to rest. This time, her shot was definitely too shallow. It bounced back and all the way to the far wall, almost like it was just going back and forth. A sigh and she grinned. "I've never been quite good at these angles," she admitted with a chuckle.

(OOC: And her player totally forgot how many either sank but it's all for fun, more of a setting piece after all.)

"I keep saying I know her, but I'm not sure. If she's who I suspect? We might never know her opinions. Such a tight lipped woman. I met a Pthumerian in a set of boats once, wedged into the side of the mountain. Sitting there, trapped. Waiting for someone..." A shake of her head and she sighed. "All of the deer with her were so sad. I never quite understood that one, though she was helpful in a way."

"You are though good at other angles." She didn't know if the other understood what she could mean by that. But to Minako it was perhaps a bit of a tease in her own way.

Watching the shot Minako was going to perhaps spend her time figuring out her next shot all the while being able to hear what the other was saying.

"I guess there will just be one of the mysteries. But that does sound awfully sad."

She caught that reference and wiggled her hip for just a minute, glancing back with the most impish look at Minako. "Mmm, I wonder which angles are your favorites," she cooed, teasing right back this time.

As she waited for Minako to take her shot, she sighed, half closing her eyes. "It was. The deer, we learned later, were probably sleepers like us. Lonely and with only each other. Too much forgotten. She herself, though, just seemed stonily resigned. Almost a little amused to have someone to talk to at all."

"Well that would be something you'll have to find out" Minako was quick to reply as she had soon made her shot before moving away from the table. It didn't go in, but looking at what was left and she knew it wasn't going to be much longer.

""So...the deer were once like us. That really is sad."

"Sadly. That was Ramona's doing. In her desperation to survive, she trapped Cynthia. the deer were those who stayed too long and lost themselves without joining the wastes," Vira-Lorr said, shaking her head. She took a moment to line this shot up. The topic always settled badly with her. Any time she mentioned Ramona, it set her teeth on edge, but it was an old itch hard not to scratch.

"I think they're better off here, though." A sigh, and her eyes closed for a minute, clearing her mind before she tilted her head back and winked at Minako. "I'm going to really enjoy finding out which angles you like, I think." There, that shot sank in. Her next didn't, but she was getting close. Just one more apiece now and the eight ball.

(OOC: I so lost track, putting it down to one apiece makes sense to me.)

That really was a sad thing to hear. She never would have guessed that in a million years. But she soon nodded slightly. What she said was probably true. They were better off here.

But soon the mood got a little lighter and Minako was quick to give a small chuckle "You might get lucky to find out." With the teasing aside Minako wasn't sure she could get her last ball in with the next shot, but the other might. But she was at least going to try and take the shot, it bounced off the side and hit her ball, but didn't sink it.

But she was glad that it didn't make it obvious about whether it was possible to sink the ball or not.

"Oh don't you dare threaten me with a good time," she said, hopping over to line up her shot. She might have been just a teensy bit eager. Her body leaned over and she wiggled a little, winking at Minako playfully before she allowed the darker topic to fade into memory. They were here for fun. They could save the world later. The shot landed the last of hers, leaving only Minako's and the 8 ball.

"One last rule. I have to be careful. If I sink my white ball now, I lose." Which was probably a good thing to mention since her shot almost, just barely avoided it off of the middle shot, but they were almost there.

"I thought if you sunk it at any point you lose. I remember that being mentioned at least." Honestly she didn't want the other to lose that way, just wouldn't seem at all fair.

But she was happy as she watched just to see what was going to happen next. AFter all they just had the last ball left.

"You know, let's play that way. Gives us that much more incentive not to accidentally sink it, doesn't it?" she said, grinning either way. It was still so very close, and she leaned over the table, lining up the shot. One crack, and the 8 ball went in. She grinned triumphantly, right in time for the cue ball to come whipping back, and sinking down the other hole.

"gah... Hah. I think you win this game," she said, sighing and smiling over at her. "But still, the point's to have fun, mmm? Anything you're hoping for as a prize?"

Minako paused for a moment. She had started to clap when the 8 ball went in but when the white one then went into another hole she had no clue what exactly that meant.

"But the eight ball went in first right? Wouldn't that mean the game was over before the white ball went in?"

"Well my turn doesn't end until the cue ball stops, but if you'd like to call it a draw, I can definitely take that," she said, winking over at her and shrugging. She didn't mind either way, as long as they had fun.

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One Night in Prufrock (Closed)

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