Fantasy Down and Out in Dark World

[Gravitational Force]

It's been about a week since your arrival in Dark World and things haven't been looking up for you. Those of you who require sustenance have avoided starvation, but that's it. You don't have steady jobs or a place to stay. Right now those of you able to are drowning your sorrows in the "Lethe and Leave" Memory Bar and Grill. The owner let you pay for your food and drink with your memories, but you'll run out of ones you can sell before long. You need to get your hands on money somehow.

Currently you're just trying to enjoy what's probably going to be your last real meal in a while.

 

[Deadwood Deer]

Wynne
Undead, Ghost
Female
“Lethe and Leave” Memory Bar and Grill
Regretting Life Choices​

The adventure stopped being fun when Wynne actually started feeling pain. So basically immediately. Stupid portals, if she’d have known that wandering around the map would have put her in another dimension to be murdered, she wouldn’t have wandered the map.

It didn’t help her situation that ghosts were the weakest species of the dark world. She barely understood the world around her at all, and had learned little in the past week except that the freak that had murdered her was some manner of demon, and doorknobs were a pain in the ass.

Nobody paid attention to her unless they were interested in using her for something, and so far those uses weren’t good for Wynne’s un-health. Fortunately, being selectively permeable meant she phased through certain things they had to actively touch to get through, and she could evade immediate danger most times.

It didn’t really help her situation that she looked like an ass, walking around a city of the dead, the damned, and the corrupted cosplaying a necromancer. If she’d have known she was going to end up in this mess she’d have dressed in something a bit more casual so she didn’t get the attention of certain ghost-eating freaks or jerks that liked to hurt ghosts for their own amusement so easily.

Were Wynne still made of flesh, she’d have started starving a while ago, unable to find a way to earn money or steal food, although some of the food in this place looked like it would have killed her anyway. Sometimes she was glad she didn’t have a stomach anymore, so she wouldn’t blow chunks when she saw what some of these freaks ate.

Freaks. The word came so natural when she looked at some of the denizens of this dark realm. Unnatural, wrong. Werebeasts, freaky and angry. Demons, freaky and evil. Magekin, just plain freaks. Vampires were the freakiest of the bunch, appearing for all inspections as just handsome and beautiful humans until they got hungry. Undead at least had a claim that their freakiness was something done to them against their will, they were disabled, not freaks, in Wynne’s estimation. Although that zombie dragging his left arm behind him on the ground was pretty freaky. Wynne might need a new word to describe the Dark Worlders.

At least the bar seemed somewhat safe, allowing her a place to hide for a few hours and figure out what the plan was. There had to be something she could do to secure safety in this hellhole, right? Someone whose ass she could kiss for protection or who had a use for a ghost significant enough to protect one that didn’t involve eating, torturing, or harvesting ectoplasm from the ghost. If she could pick stuff up it would be so much easier. Movies lied, or Wynne sucked as a ghost, because she couldn’t even move anything that weighed more than a pen, let alone fling furniture across the room or blast doors open. Perhaps she could find another ghost to tail and see how they did things, or find a place of security to practice until she had a way to defend herself.

 

[Tattletale]

Sabien Price, Weretiger
Tense, frustrated
“Lethe and Leave” Memory Bar and Grill

​

Sabien looked across the room without really seeing it, twitching at every movement he thought he saw from the corner of his eye. Yep, he was well damn fucked. The initial rush had been a blast, but after waking up in a filthy alley, covered in blood and grime, shit had started going downhill real quick.

This place... Fuck, he never cared much for human company, but the freaks that lived in this city were far worse. Just in the few first days, he managed to get mugged twice, beaten up by a snotty bloodsucker who apparently despised "uncultured fleabags", eaten rats just to survive, and seen things walking around that would have made him run in a panic if it weren't for the fact that he was one of them, now. He wasn't in Kansas anymore, that was a given.

And the worst part of it is that he couldn't transform. Not like the first time he did, in control, powerful, free. He could feel the beast at all times, gnawing at the edges of his already frayed consciousness, but the moment he tried to let it out, it just... Holed up, like a caged animal. And to top it up, the couple of times he had managed, it had been to find out that literally, everyone in this hellhole could give him a run for his money. What was the use of being given power if everyone else had more?

Sabien realized he was growling, and stopped before someone decided to take it as an invitation for kicking his ass. Again. Once a sucker, always a sucker, huh? Well, fuck that. He had been given a chance, and he wasn't about to waste it. Mustering as much swaggering bravado as he could manage, he got up and started walking towards the bar, straightening his ratty shirt and sticking his hands in his jeans. He needed a solution, pronto.

If he had to eat one more fucking rat he was going to lose it.

 

[_Chrysanthemum_]

Vael
Vampire
Female
"Lethe and Leave" Memory Bar and Grill
Lonely and Annoyed, Regretful

​

Vael was wandering up and down alleyways, rarely taking real streets for the fear of being beaten up or jeered at. She was starving and broke, and those blood fountains weren't cheap. It was so musty and miserable down in the dark world. She didn't want to stay here for another minute, much less the rest of her life. She was so damn tired. The thought of her old life, which she once thought boring, sounded like the best thing in the world. She wasn't good at dealing with struggling, she was always so used to the rich, cushioned life she once led.

Being a vampire, she would like to say, had its advantages, but she couldn't think of any off the top of her head. Maybe she could focus on her beauty but nobody pays any attention to looks, only wealth.

She never would have even considered stepping foot in that store if she knew it would not only stick her in the same world with these... these monsters, but turn her into one of them. What has she become? She was one of the monstrosities children feared. Nobody from her old life would recognize her, she was a completely different creature. She wasn't even the same species, she didn't have the same looks, the same personality, nothing. She had changed. And it sure wasn't for the better.

As she stumbled down a street, looking for anyone or anything to drink from, she noticed the bar. Maybe she would be able to get a real meal there and not just some dead, rotting animal's poisoned blood that made her sick. She cracked open the door and slipped inside, not trying to bring attention to herself. Maybe here she could find some kind of shelter and sustenance, both things she desperately needed.

Man, life- or un-life- was shit. This world stopped for no one, and if you fell you weren't going to get back up. If you fell in this world ten different people would try to step on you to get up higher. She knew because she was close to falling, her hands and knees bloody on the concrete floor.

 

[GrieveWriter]

Penance
Demon
“Lethe and Leave” Memory Bar and Grill
Optimistic
Starting from the bottom again was a reality that anyone in a risky business had to accept as a possibility. Markets always changed, business partners couldn't be trusted forever, and the numerous crimes committed by White-Collar criminals like Penance could always lead to potential interference from ol' Johnny law. He at least figured his offshore accounts would provide a nifty safety net if his business ever fell apart, keep him from having to start from all the way at the beginning, but those offshore accounts were literally worlds away when considering the Dark World.

Even so, he wasted no time in trying to learn the ways of this new world, and quickly came to realize that getting absolutely thrashed by everyone else was a pretty common occurrence. He'd probably had more broken bones and prison style shankings in the last week than he'd had in his entire human life, but if that was to be the ballpark he had to work with then so be it. Though he didn't much have any physical power compared to the megoliaths running around this cesspool of a realm, Penance had always figured that his greatest abilities had always been internal after all.

Besides the sweet, second pair of arms he'd gotten with his transformation, he was essentially immortal. And while that didn't mean much considering the grievous wounds he'd suffered over the past week, such was the price to pay for the infinite potential of time. For time was truly all it would take, learning the ins and outs of this realm would be a daunting task for someone who aged. But for him? It was merely a matter of time.

Which was why he was one of the few inside the musty, dank memory bar sporting a grin under his mask. Slumped up against the bar on a rickety stool while waiting for his latest drink. In here, he had to take stock of the garbage he'd collected today. As a vagabond, one had to appreciate the useful scraps discarded by those above. It was something he'd picked up from his time as a business mogul, all the expensive things he'd just throw away because he could. The powerful tended to underestimate certain possessions simply because of how mundane they become to them.

Spilling open a tattered pouch, he began digging through it with two of his hands while the others drummed their fingers on the bar whilst waiting for his drink.

Bent nails, scrap metal from a broken trash can, a half-eaten light bulb, twelve corpses of unidentifiable bugs with two of them blatantly nibbled on.

Not exactly a secret fortune, but Penance hadn't gotten to the position he'd previously been in if he'd given up due to overwhelming odds. Which is why he actually chuckled to himself when his drink finally came. Even without money, he'd been lucky to stumble upon an establishment willing to take memories as payment . If there was benefit of being an absurdly rich businessman in his past life, it was that he had an absolute abundance of memories he was more than willing to part with. Half of which were of people he no longer cared about or situations that would undoubtedly be irrelevant in another world, like that one kid he took to a play for some reason.

Even though he was only on his third drink after finishing his meal, Penance was already considering continued patronage. Hell, there memories he damn well needed to get removed if he could.

But that would be for later, for now there was the issue of the other patrons who could afford such a charge. Surrounded by monsters both living and dead, human-like and positively grotesque; Penance knew for a fact that there was potential for marketing evaluation all around him. The thought made him groan under his breath from enthusiasm.

Turning back, his upper arms went to his mask as the other two went to his drink and one of his bent nails respectively. Gripping the bottom of his mask, he slowly pried it from the tender, moist flesh underneath so that he could brink his drink up to gnarled lips and crooked teeth. Whilst taking a sip, he used the nail to jab at several dead bugs before enjoying more of the dry insects. They were far better with a drink after all and were a fine, if not repulsive, addition to the meal he'd just finished.

It was during this snack that he took note of an angry looking fellow approaching the bar. By now, Penance knew better than to trust the visage of humanity, beginning to wonder whether he was a manner of beastkin or vampire. His musings were interrupted by yet another soul stumbling in, already getting her blood on the already wretched looking bar floor. Penance wasn't one to pass up the possibility of entertainment during his break from evaluating the Dark World, and so spun around in his seat to view her struggle from a far better angle.

As he viewed, he made sure to snack on several more dead bugs with the nail, but his other arms were busy sliding the rest of his junky gatherings into his pouch.

 

[Deadwood Deer]

Wynne Victoria
Undead, Ghost
Female, Former Human
"Lethe and Leave" Memory Bar and Grill
Plotting Her Next Move
Interaction: _Chrysanthemum_ Tattletale

It wouldn't do to sit here feeling sorry for herself forever, Wynne decided. What would Wynne do? Wynne wasn't actually Wynne's name, she was born Sarah, but she was playing the part of Wynne Victoria the Necromage when she entered this world, and she'd already decided that if there was a way out, she didn't want her real identity tied to this mess at all. The necromancer would have easily able to handle this situation with the demons and werebeasts and vampires and such, she had magic, but Wynne's influence had always been political in-game. She gained her real power by working her way into the good graces of the people with deep pockets. Commissions, advisory roles, someone who 'took care of things'. Wynne currently couldn't do commissions without any way to interact reliably with the physical world. She doubted anyone she could get to as of now wanted her advice. She definitely couldn't 'take care of things' for the same reason she couldn't do commissions.

She needed a few things right now. Someone to protect her from ghost-tormenters, a way to secure her finances so she could pay that person if necessary and fund research into covering her translucent ass in other parts of life, and some stability so she could research other ways to work in the meantime. She could move a pen, at least, the pages of a book shouldn't be as difficult in comparison. If she could do at least one of those things, she had a solid base to start from and work her way up.

The ghost looked up as a vampire walked in. She sure looked like how Wynne would if she wasn't a ghost. Wynne didn't really understand vampires. She'd understood at least that undead were under the domain of one of the darklords, Dismur she recalled the name to be. But vampires... weren't? She could only assume that undead bloodsuckers didn't count as undead in this world. That didn't change, however that the poor bloodsucker was in real bad condition. So far Wynne hadn't encountered any vampires that ate or tortured ghosts. That was mostly magekin and demons. Wynne didn't like demons.

But she was also smarter than to just walk up and introduce herself in this hellhole. That had gone poorly the first time, and Wynne wasn't stupid... anymore. Nope, kindness wasn't rewarded in this hellhole, and Wynne wasn't anywhere near a position where she could survive the punishments for weakness. Being eaten or bound somewhere for her ectoplasm to be harvested wasn't an appealing idea. A vampire could be useful, though. Wynne didn't like manipulating people, but she was playing a part for survival. Dead or not, preserving her own existence came first at the moment, and she understood vampires to be very versatile. She'd have to keep an eye on this vulnerable one, she might be able to make something work, here.

Trying to ignore the growling wereginger as she floated past to get a passing glance at the vampire and see if she glean more information, Wynne momentarily forgot she wasn't entirely solid as someone got up from their chair and walked right through her. God, she'd never get used to that! It felt like she was going to puke, but she couldn't, and she could almost taste that guy's sweat. Being dead already had ups and downs. This was a down.

Taking a moment to keep moving and try to get her non-existent stomach to agree with her non-existent brain that it needed to sit down and shut up right now without broadcasting that she wasn't doing so hot, she eventually made her way to the general area of Vael the messy vampire. She definitely wasn't doing too hot herself. If they were in the normal world, Wynne might have offered the girl a hand and a kerchief to clean herself up. In this world, she had other things to figure out beforehand. Was this vampire someone she might be able to manipulate? How could she motivate this vampire to help her? How could she do so discreetly? Clearly she needed a feed, she looked almost as dead as Wynne, and injured. Couldn't vampires heal at an extraordinary rate when they were well-fed? Wynne decided she'd find a way to get this vampire alone to learn more, quietly shadowing the vamp to the best of her stealth abilities.

#ffa7b6

 

[_Chrysanthemum_]

Vael
Vampire
Female
"Lethe and Leave" Memory Bar and Grill
Feeling hopeless, lost
Mentions:
Deadwood Deer ​

​

Vael had just obtained her first substantial meal at the cost of quite a few of her old, useless memories when she noticed a ghost floating towards her. Or maybe it was just her paranoid, messed up mind and that ghost was just being a ghost. She couldn't tell at this point. Deciding to ignore her, Vael focused on her appearance. She wanted to pass as a respectable, important vampire, so she had to look the part. Of course, she wouldn't be fooling anyone, everyone with half a mind in the dark world could tell an important vampire from a nobody, but she was also half under the impression that some of the freaks and monsters here didn't own any brain at all. At least that was the hope.

There was a puddle of water in the corner of the bar, so she tried to use that as a mirror before she realized that the fear that had been nagging at the back of her mind was correct. Even her minimal prior knowledge about vampires had included that vampires couldn't see themselves in mirrors, but this was so much worse. Without meaning to she jumped back in shock and fright. What she saw wasn't her. That wasn't Vael or Valerie. That wasn't her. she refused to believe it. There was a decaying corpse where her face should have been. She quickly backed away and vowed to never look at anything that could show her her reflection ever again. She would smash any mirrors she came across.

As Vael gathered herself again she realized a good portion of the bar was looking at her. Great. Good going, Valerie, you just made a fool out of you're self and now you're going to pay the consequences. She thought to herself. She half attempted a fake smile and went back to her seat. She combs her fingers through the jungle of tangles in her hair, remembering what she was trying to do in the first place.

She glanced at the ghost again, wondering if what she had noticed was her imagination or not. She really didn't want another freak messing with her, but she couldn't fight back seeing as she wouldn't physically be able to touch a ghost. At least she would start to heal a little faster with a full stomach.

She watched the demons, ghosts, werebeasts, and whatever other hellish creatures surrounded her as they milled around. They all looked like they could beat her up in an instant if they wanted to. Vampires were strong, she used to think. Maybe a healthy vampire is. Of course, all of the dark world inhabitants were vastly stronger than humans, maybe with the exception of new ghosts, but that didn't stop her from feeling helpless and weak.

I need to change that, She quickly decided. No more weak, innocent little girl. Sympathy would get her nowhere here. She was alone. She took a few deep breaths and straightened up in her chair. It was a tiny change, and most likely nobody would notice or care. It was more just for her. It was more just her wanting to convince herself that she was going to make it. She was going to survive this. And then maybe, someday, she would get the chance to go back home. Maybe.

 

[Tattletale]

Sabien Price, Weretiger, Male
Wary, amused
“Lethe and Leave” Memory Bar and Grill
Mentions: _Chrysanthemum_
Interacts: Deadwood Deer

As he walked to the bar, with the firm intent of swallowing what little pride he had left and begging for a job, the sound of the door opening threw him off. He stopped, turning to look at the newcomer, and froze. A few days ago, his reaction would have been due to awe, maybe nervousness. Now, however, he looked at her as one might look at a particularly hungry lioness. The girl who had just walked in was gorgeous, certainly: ivory skin, flowing black hair, and long, silky lashes. Lashes that framed deep crimson eyes.

"Vampire", he thought, the affirmation burning like poison in his brain. He hadn't had the most pleasant interactions with his kind during the past week. On second look, however, she looked... Frazzled, almost scared? Nah, he probably just imagined it. Taking a couple of steps back, Sabien leaned back on the wall, hoping the sudden change in direction wasn't too conspicuous. And speaking of conspicuousness...

He wasn't the only one studying the vampire. Near the area, trying (and probably failing) to go unnoticed, the ghost girl was skulking around. She had to be a ghost, he had seen some guy walk through her not two minutes ago. He would have laughed if he hadn't been so deep in shit right now. She wore a... the fuck was she wearing? She looked like one of those convention-goer nerds he had mugged a couple of times, back in London. Well, he wasn't really one to talk. At least her clothes weren't ripped and smeared with blood and mud. What most interested him, though, was the expression on her face. Ghost-girl was deathly pale. Which made sense, given what she was, but Sabien could have sworn that if it weren't for the whole "already dead" thing, she would have been sweating bullets. He knew that expression, it was on his face more often than not, these days.

"Fuck it, let's try this." Making a decision, the weretiger straightened and casually walked beside the wall, towards Ghost-girl. As he advanced, he considered his options. The good old poke? Nah, incorporeal chick, probably wouldn't appreciate people jabbing fingers in her very soul. A straightforward hi? Nuh-uh, where's the fun in that? Then again, he was trying to make allies... Deciding on a tried and true classic, he approached her back as much as he could without actually stepping inside her personal space. No point in looking like a creep. A hardass though? That he could work with.

Sabien grinned. "Here goes nothing."

"Oi!" he bellowed. "Watcha up to?"

 

[Deadwood Deer]

Wynne Victoria
Undead, Ghost
Female, Former Human
"Lethe and Leave" Memory Bar and Grill
Having an Undead Heart Attack
Interaction/Mention: _Chrysanthemum_ Tattletale
​

If Wynne had still had a heart, it would have just exploded. As it were, or rather wasn't, instead Wynne whirled around and in the midst of panicking and momentarily forgetting she didn't have a solid hand to punch the weretiger in the throat with, she ended up standing halfway in the wall and halfway in the building. That would have been humiliating a few days ago, but that feature had saved her undeath a few times by now. Her focus was on damage control right now, her presence had just been called out and she had been trying to hide.

"You trying to get yourself killed?", she hissed, glancing around the bar as she pulled herself out of the wall. Attracting attention in this hellhole? Did some idiots aspire to become ghosts and zombies? What the hell? She caught eye contact with one of the patrons and hurriedly broke it, focusing back on the weretiger. "I don't have any money, shaking me down is gonna get you nothing!" Fortunately, most of the patrons were either in the haze of losing their memories to pay for food or just couldn't be bothered to get involved, but this was still more attention than Wynne wanted by a longshot. Now the vampire probably knew she was nearby, and she had to deal with this werebeast! At least there wasn't much a werebeast could do to her, usually. But if he had friends... She glanced around again nervously, trying to pick out other members of this one's pack, but it was hard to tell, and by the condition of Sabien's clothes and body, either he was alone or fresh from a fight with buddies celebrating with drinks.

Wynne was never particularly religious, but when encountering potential threats in this hellhole she'd started silently praying whatever deity was out there would turn things in her favor somehow. 'Please, God, don't let me die again in this hellhole.'

#ffa7b6

 

[Tattletale]

Sabien Price, Weretiger, Male
Nervous, hopeful, amused
“Lethe and Leave” Memory Bar and Grill
Interacts: Deadwood Deer


​

Ha, okay. That had been funny. "Don't rub it in though, I want her to not hate me." Now that he had a closer look, he was sure: that was a cosplay. She was from Earth, like him. She also looked a bit older, though that was hard to tell from a ghost. Cautious, too, that was good. Not that he was less scared than her, but a few years in a gang taught one how to show a convincing front. Sabien schooled his expression, putting on a more genuine look.

"Please, lady.", he said, lowering his voice to match hers. "if folks around these parts got that pissy at a little bit of noise, I'd be very dead by now." Sabien put more confidence in those words than he actually felt. They were small fries (at least he was), not really worth the trouble, but a good bunch of the fuckers down here were complete sadists. At least most people looked deep in their cups or uninterested. Small blessings. "Also, not a shakedown. Not like I could even touch you anyways, eh?" He added, rubbing his neck where her hand had phased through. "I just wanna talk. Maybe over a drink? My treat." Trying to look as non-threatening as possible, the redhead gestured to the empty table he had been sitting on.

As he waited for her response, he started second-guessing his words, as always. Too harsh? Too needy? Was the offer for a drink a nice gesture or did he look like he was coming on to her? Fuck, he hoped that wasn't the case, his credibility was at an all-time low already. Not that she wasn't pretty–"No, don't think about that you idiot, focus on SURVIVAL." He needed allies, and who knows how long it would take for him to find someone else from home.

He better not screw this up.

 

[Deadwood Deer]

Wynne Victoria
Undead, Ghost
Female, Former Human
"Lethe and Leave" Memory Bar and Grill
Calculating her Options
Interaction/Mention: Tattletale

"You're not the first to try and lure me in by being nice," Wynne crossed her arms. "And I can't even drink anything." She wanted to be rid of this werebeast and move on, but if he was anything like that magekin that had promised to make her corporeal, sitting down to have a drink with him would not end well for the ghost. Not that she could drink anything anyway, it would be more like she sat down and watched him drink. And she'd had too many bad experiences this week to just trust someone because they asked for it. Trust and loyalty was earned down here, or extracted by force. Wynne didn't have the force to extract it and she was too paranoid by now to just hand out chances to earn it.

Now she'd lost the vampire, though, and she probably wouldn't be able to discreetly commune with the bloodsucker anytime soon. Wynne's only solid opportunity in days wasted by a ginger. If she could make big things move she'd put a table through this guy's head, if for no other reason than to remind herself that she wasn't a pushover. As it were, she didn't have any opportunities, she couldn't afford to look this potential one in the mouth right now. She closed her eyes, sighed, and then walked over to the table and sat down in the seat that was pulled out already. If she was capable of pulling one out herself, she would have, but ghosts couldn't really interact with furniture on their own, so Sabien's seat would suffice.

"What do you want from me?", she asked once the weretiger was seated.

#ffa7b6

 

[_Chrysanthemum_]

Vael
Vampire
Female
"Lethe and Leave" Memory Bar and Grill
Feeling hopeless, lost
Mentions:
Deadwood Deer
Tattletale


​

Vael watched as the ghost she was eyeing started to talk to a were. She silently hoped that Ghost Girl would quickly send the were away, as, for the most part, only bad things could come from them interacting. She had no reason to, but she had taken a liking to that ghost. Maybe old you would have talked to her at some point, but not Vael. Vael is going to stick to what she's good at, and that's blending in with the crowd until she has the means to start making a name for herself. She was still getting used to this whole 'new world, new me' thing.

She yawned, suddenly realizing she hadn't got much sleep. She figured a vampire was supposed to sleep during the day, but she couldn't really tell day from night. It was always dark, which was good for her sun allergy, but not for her sleep schedule. Maybe she didn't need one, she didn't know. Maybe naps were the way to go.

Vael was sitting at an empty table, in the seat as far away from other monsters as possible. She looked around, searching for a friendly enough looking freak to maybe strike a deal with. She could possibly trade- shit, what did she have? Not a damn thing, that's what. Not anything anyone would care enough about to protect her. I guess I can leave that thought behind then, She finally concluded after wracking her brain, looking for something of any value.

Her manipulation skills were weak at best, and she didn't need to make any unwanted enemies when they saw right through her. Though maybe if they were as desperate as me... maybe I could take advantage of, what, loneliness? She doubted it.

 

[GrieveWriter]

Penance
Demon
“Lethe and Leave” Memory Bar and Grill
Humored curiosity
Interaction/Mention: Deadwood Deer _Chrysanthemum_ Tattletale
What Penance initially thought would be a fun if not morbid show of watching a weakened creature breath her last right in front of him proved far more profitable than expected. Several others had taken note of the Vampire's weakened form, and she distanced herself from a spirit that had joined in on the viewing party. Penance wasn't exactly sure why, so far the spirits that he'd kept track of since arriving in this realm ranged from observers to Poltergeists. This one had barely managed to move a thing since arriving, so he'd written it off as one of the observer types. But the Vampire's hesitation over the ghost was nowhere near as interesting as her reaction to seeing her reflection, the small jump of shock prompting Penance to narrow his gaze as he suckled on more dead bugs.

Far be it from being weak, this one seemed unused to her very appearance.

While mulling over that tidbit of information, he'd allowed the beast man to escape his view. When he spotted him approaching the ghost girl, Penance found his attention diverted between them and the Vampire. He was attempting to speak with the ghost, who reacted with caution and hostility Penance wouldn't have expected from one of the incorporeal. The were seemed to be trying to entice her into a chat, offering to even buy her a drink. Considering the desperation that most patrons visiting this kind of establishment had among them, Penance found this detail of great interest as well.

Gathering up his meager belongings, Penance downed the rest of his drink and shoveled the last scraps of his paltry meal into his maw before yanking his mask down back over his face. Given the circumstances, he felt as though he'd stumbled across unfortunate travelers like himself. Whilst he was positive the Vampire was new to her flesh, he was less certain about the others given his semi-novice understanding of this realm's ways. Whether they were human or not was inconsequential to him, however, as long as they were struggling then that was all he needed. It was precisely why he'd come to places like this after all.

Starvation and thirst might have been a powerful motivator, but after getting absolutely annihilated several times since arriving here those pains became absolutely paltry by comparison. Suffering in this realm was a thing to get used to, and was actually pretty straightforward compared to the business and politics he'd had to master as a human. While the beggar's meal was satisfying, it was nothing compared to scoping out the others on the bottom of the food-chain. He'd gone from establishment to establishment, skulking around in filth and gutters just to get a general sample of what the other destitute monstrosities like himself were like, and right now his evaluation had paid off in an unexpected but welcome manner.

Still turned around in his seat, Penance stretched as he secured his tiny pouch of garbage. Standing up, he put his hands on his hips before looking over the Bar's patrons once more.

Seeing as the Were was currently having issues swaying the ghost, Penance turned his attention to the other creature of interest. Keeping his attention locked on the ghost and the beast man, he stepped away from the bar a bit before suddenly turning and setting a hand on the Vampire's table.

"So what've you learned since your arrival?" he asked with a casual tilt of his head, gesturing towards the ghost and Beast man with one of his extra arms as he did so "I'd ask one of them but right now I'd rather pose questions to those at their lowest and, no offense truly, you're looking pretty damn low right about now."

 

[Tattletale]

Sabien Price, Weretiger, Male
Nervous, hopeful
“Lethe and Leave” Memory Bar and Grill
Interacts: Deadwood Deer

"What do you want from me?"
Hm, that was a good question. What did he want, exactly? Sabien paused for a few seconds, thinking about what to say. Truth be told, he didn't even expect her to be willing to talk, so he hadn't planned this far.

"Okay, first things first" The weretiger almost offered a hand in greeting, but after remembering her incorporeal nature, he settled for an awkward nod. "I'm Sabien. Pleased." Introductions were easy, but the subject he was trying to tackle was a bit trickier. What, did he went straight to proposing an alliance? Trust was in short order in this city, and Ghost-girl knew it. Something like that would only scare her off and, if she accepted right away, it would have meant that she was an idiot or plotting to betray him. None of those outcomes boded well for him.

Trust needed to be built, and it depended on him to start. He needed a connection, common grounds. Deciding on a course of action, he started talking. "So, you are not from around here, are you?" After that, he leaned a little bit closer and lowered his voice as much as he could until he was reasonably sure that only she could hear him. Maybe some of the patrons had super-hearing or some other bullshit way of picking his words out, but it didn't hurt to be cautious anyway.

"You are from Earth." As he spoke, he tugged at the neck rim of his shirt with his index finger so his lower left clavicle would be visible. There, a half-faded tattoo of the Football Club Barcelona was visible. It was old, one of the first ones he ever had done, and an old shame from his football craze days, when he had believed that his meager talent at kicking a damn ball was his best bet of getting out of the streets.

But it was also proof of his origins, something from home. And right now, he was damn glad he had it.

"Just like me."

 

[_Chrysanthemum_]

Vael
Vampire
Female
"Lethe and Leave" Memory Bar and Grill
Shocked, Startled, terrified?
Mentions:
Deadwood Deer
Tattletale
Interactions:
GrieveWriter

​

Vael was snapped back into her unfortunate reality when a demon, a fucking scary demon at that, came up to her table. She leaped up and out of her chair, pushing the table and her chair away from her. She took a step back, remembered who she was supposed to be, and walked around the table to face him.

"I do take offense to that, though I don't doubt it's true," She winced inwardly as she slipped back into her old human mindset and tried to make a joke, but she tried to glaze over it and continue. No use worrying about it now, that would only make her look weak. "What have I learned here, let's see..."

She paused, trying to quickly size up her competition. She didn't have long to decide if she should run out of the bar or just quickly send away the demon. She did not want this man as an ally. She had the feeling he would betray her at the drop of a hat. There was no way she was going to trust this guy.

Now if he was planning on mugging her... surely he would have done it already, right? And any common sense would normally tell you to not mug someone in a crowded area where everyone could see you. At least on Earth. She didn't know what kind of laws they had down here, but surely there were some, right? Was there any law enforcement? She hadn't seen any. They must be pretty relaxed if there are. The more and more she thought about it the less likely it seemed there was any.

He was still there when she responded to him, sadly. He hadn't forgotten about her and left.


"Well for starters I would say I've learned not to walk up to strangers for no damn reason." She glared at the demon, who was suddenly starting to look a lot bigger than she remembered. He seemed to loom over her. That's just your imagination. She told herself, inching backward a little ways.

Vael glanced back to where the ghost girl and the werebeast were sitting, or rather the were was sitting and the ghost was watching. She saw the werebeast show ghost girl something. Focus. You have way too much to deal with already to try and concern yourself with other's problems. She turned back to the demon.

"What do you want from me?"

 

[Deadwood Deer]

Wynne Victoria
Undead, Ghost
Female, Former Human
"Lethe and Leave" Memory Bar and Grill
Suspicious
Interaction: Tattletale

So that was what the were wanted? Introductions and a chat about Earth? Wynne had to admit that she'd been longing for a way home, but she was dead now, Earth was but another plane, and tattoos were easy to get. She'd never even heard of that football club, she couldn't believe it was real. "Let me guess," Wynne crossed her arms, "You got that tattoo recently and let it get horribly messed up so you could use it to trick earthlings into coming under your influence. As soon as you've gotten a victim under your influence, you're going to lead them to some benefactor that is either going to eat, torture, or outright kill them. Do I have that right?" She shook her head.

"Even if I was from Earth, a tattoo and a drink wouldn't be enough to get me to confess that."

#ffa7b6

 

[GrieveWriter]

Penance
Demon
“Lethe and Leave” Memory Bar and Grill
Humored Optimist
Interaction/Mention: _Chrysanthemum_ Deadwood Deer Tattletale

Penance folded one pair of arms while he casually drummed his nails on the table with the others. Her initial show of fear, while amusing in its own right, confirmed something to him that was far more funny in principle than practice. He folded both sets of his arms over his chest and tilted his head at her as she pulled herself together and looked him over. If not for the mask he wore, he would've definitely attempted to shoot her a smile. Whether it was intended to relax or intimidate would be anyone's guess, but such thoughts were beside the point.

Once she chose not to run from him, Penance knew that he'd managed to clear the first rung of conversation here in the dark world. Honestly, it was so hard to get dark folk to speak to him that he'd taken to speaking to himself just to make sure he didn't get rusty. But that was a trade secret few would be cleared to know, a demon's gotta have things for himself, right? Anyway, the fact that he'd received an actual response instead of ignorance or retaliation was only the first step, now that his foot was in the door he'd need to throw it open to keep it from ending prematurely.

"No damn reason?" he reiterated as he followed her gaze to the ghost and the beast man, "Now that right there's quite a stinging sensation you've left me right here."

He tapped a pair of fingers over his heart before shrugging, "As another witless newblood wandering semi-blind down here, I'm merely tryin' to gleam some knowhow from another recently dehumanized monstrosity."

Penance was nearly certain that, if not human, she hadn't spent much more time as a vampire in the Dark as he had spent as a demon. He wasn't exactly sure how many methods of becoming a monstrosity there were, but he honestly couldn't care less. The fact that he'd even implied knowledge of such transformation was merely a fishing line to be tugged or discarded at will. Regardless of origin, there was knowledge to be gained from those of another class of Darkworld creature.

Everyone needed to start somewhere when it came to analyzing the populace, and Penance had already resigned himself on a busing the immortality he'd been granted. If he had to skim wretched dives like this for the next five years just to get an accurate understanding of his future customer bases through the ascending questioning of various members of varying castes, he would. For what was the alternative? Information was the key to success when all knowledge was lacking, and damn it if it wasn't hard to gain any when over half the folks you spoke to figured bludgeoning, skewering or maiming you was the only suitable answer.

He whipped a chair over to him before sitting down in it backwards, shaking his head at her as he did so. With himself settling into a good talking-to position, he flicked a finger towards the duo she'd been eyeing up, "Don't know if you've noticed yet, hon, but grimy dives like this are essentially magnets for newbloods, least if my investigation's accurate so far. I may have four arms, nails capable of tearing through flesh and a face that'd drive children into psychopathic frenzies but I sure as hell ain't forget how to evaluate a customer base."

He clasped two hands together and drummed his fingers on the table with a third "Excuse me, future customer base." he chuckled before waving a finer beside his head with his fourth hand "I for one have already discovered that dining on the excess of bugs chittering and crawling all around this place can easily stave off any hunger I could possibly feel. However...."

He looked her up and down again before tapping a finger against his mask, "From the look's of you, my method just ain't gonna cut it. This right here's exactly the kinda stuff I gotta keep in mind if I'm gonna craft me a proper business anytime soon, you followin' me bloodsucker?"

 

[_Chrysanthemum_]

Vael
Vampire
Female
"Lethe and Leave" Memory Bar and Grill
Suspicious, nervous, but slightly Intrigued
Interactions:
GrieveWriter
​

She flinched as he talked. His voice was horrible, like listening to the embodiment of some horrible dream you can't wake up from. She tried to keep a blank, emotionless face to hide her racing thoughts. He's trying to find something he can use against me. Trying to make me think we're alike. She knew what he was doing, or at least had a good guess, but for some reason, she wanted to believe it. She wanted to believe she wasn't alone. That there was someone who was going through a similar experience as her.

But a demon? No, she was nothing like a demon. The freaks down here don't mess with demons like they do vampires. All demons looked intimidating whether it's their first day or thousandth. She was the opposite of intimidating, however much she wanted to be.

Vael slowly, cautiously, grabbed a chair and sat in it across from the demon. She stared with as blank a face she could as the demon talked on.

"I'm following." She grunted, crossing her arms.

"So let me ask you this," Vael narrowed her eyes and leaned towards him, putting one arm on the table with her fist under her chin. "Why? Why would you want to help me? I'm of no use to you, I can't do anything in return. I don't know anything down here, I don't know how any of this stuff works."

Maybe that wasn't the smartest thing to say.

Vael was anxious, of course. She'd never really done any kind of business at all, as a vampire in the Dark World or a human on Earth. This demon, on the other hand, seemed to be well-versed in the matter. She didn't know how far she could push things before she crossed the line. As much as Vael wanted to just get up and run away right that second, she knew it would probably be better for her to stick around until she knew what she would miss.

She had to stop making eye contact after a moment or two, it was making her dizzy and her head hurt. There was something about this demon, besides the fact that he was a demon, that was just very off-putting. He was up to something, but whether or not it would end up being a bad thing on her part she couldn't tell. Vael wondered where he came from...

Not that it mattered. Where ever he came from, whether it be from Earth just a week ago like Vael or his entire life. It didn't matter, she told herself. Why would it matter?

But she did have a feeling he was new here. Maybe it was that he said it, yes. He had straight-up said he was 'another witless newblood', but that's not what made her think he was. Ah, Vael didn't know what to think anymore. She was tired and ready for this interaction to be over.

"I would possibly be willing to exchange some of your knowledge for whatever I know. Maybe also if you got me some food."

That's too much to ask, especially after saying I don't know anything. Wow, that was a stupid thing to say. Think before you speak, Valerie!