Memories of a Bartending During Mardi Gras

[ARaynes]

OOC: This is another vampire thread. I decided to make it after reading Lost Soul? by Poppy Z. Brite. Welcome on and all.

She sat at the bar all alone nursing her drink. The storm outside raged on and she noticed about half the patrons that were there, were leaving.

"Well, there goes my tips for the night." She thought to herself.

How long had it been since she had opened this thing? Fourteen years? And not once during Mardi Gras had this place been this empty. You would think that being right in the middle of the French Quarter she would have more guests. Guess that storm is a bitch.

Her thoughts lingered on. She thought about her old lovers. It had been a while since they had made an appearance, and Mardi Gras was always their favorite time of year. She thought back at how they first came to her in the summer forty years ago.

The oldest was her age, how old? Around two hundred now. He was so, unique, was the best word she could use to describe him. She loved his long black hair and his beautiful green eyes. How could she ever forget him.

Judging from the time she last saw them they must have forgotten about her. It had been about three years, maybe four.

She looked up at the door as it opened. She couldn't quite make out who was coming in, the door hiding the figure behind it.

"What I wouldn't give to see them again." She said watching the door and taking another drink of her hurricane.

 

[ARaynes]

************BUMP******************

 

[ARaynes]

No takers?

 

[ARaynes]

One more bump!

 

[Dr. B Evil]

He knew there was a slight chance that she would recognize him. He was much younger than she, but they had known one another quite well.

It took a while before he even crossed the street to get near her place. Even from the outside he could see that it was empty. He would have preferred a crowded venue from which he could blend in. But he was drawn to this place, ...and drawn to Mardis Gras.

The rain soaked into his fedora and disappeared down the back of his neck. He was near nothing like what he was when they last saw each other. True, his shoulders were still broad, his eyes bright and his jaw squared, but he had changed in years cruising the Pacific archeapelegos. His skin weathered and scarred, yet still healthy. His hair turned from a dark brown to sun bleached blonde. His eyes, however, remained an ocean of blue.

He surveyed the scene inside, mapping out his next move. Slowly he stepped forward, the aloof stranger coming in out of the rain.

 

[StarXChyld]

Samatha Smith

Sitting alone at a table in the darkened corner of the bar, she could hear the distance rumble of thunder. She watched as the people around her began gathering their things and paying their checks. Everyone was in a hurry to get home before the storm hit.

Everyone but her.

At the tender age of 19, there wasn’t even a home she could scurry to had she wanted. She had run from her home over a year ago and there was no turning back. What she did need to do was make a score and find some unsuspecting gentleman that would take her home for the night to keep her safe and warm and maybe even give her a meal. Her stomach seconded the decision with a low rumble of it’s own. She realized she hadn’t eaten since yesterday afternoon when she first arrived at Mardi Gras.

Forcing away the panic that was setting in as she watched the crowd grow even thinner, she surveyed the room once again looking for any prospects. A lone, middle-aged man in the far corner of the room, sat absently picking his nose as he read the sports page and sipped his beer. She cringed at the possibility of having to choose him.

Ten more minutes.

She would wait ten more minutes and see if anything more appealing might pass by. Otherwise it would be the nose-picker for the night. Any port in the storm. She had to find shelter somewhere.

 

[caspai]

Felicia

Felicia

The thunder rumbling in the background frightened her. Had for as long as she could remember. Had there ever been a time when she had felt secure when loud noises had come from the sky?

Curled on her side, she tried to hide her head under the pillow, but that woman's voice kept coming at her, almost as relentlessly as the thunder itself. "That is God, he is coming to get you. He knows how evil you are. It is his judgement coming down. Why else would you be so frightened by it?" She fought the tears that were threatening to fall, so heavy in her eyes that she didn't dare close her lids. All she could do is just stare at the cloth covered button that tacked the upholstery to the couch that served as her bed. If she cried, that woman would win. She had tried once to think of her as grandmother, but the words stuck in her throat. Another bright flash of light was quickly followed by the hideous crash of the thunder. Unable to help herself, she closes her eyes tightly, and the tears began to trickle out. "Crying, are you? Cry your heart out, you little murderer. His judgement is sure and swift, and he knows you for what you are." Burying her head, the sobs racked her thin body. Angrily, she sits up and faces the bitter old woman before her. "It isn't my fault she died! It isn't my fault I was born! I didn't do anything to cause it, it was her fault, not mine!" As quickly as a snake, her hand whipped out and grabbed a handful of the child's hair. "Did I tell you that you could speak? I didn't think so. You should be happy that I allow you a roof over your head, but are you? Of course not. All you do is sass me...I have a cure for that..." The woman drags her off of the couch, kicking and sobbing, and pulls her toward the bathroom...

Shaking off the memory, just one of many that she tried to push to the back of her mind. Those were the dark times, but the old battle axe was dead and gone. She had always known that she would outlive the vile old woman, and smiled at the bittersweet memory of it. Living well is always the best revenge. Grabbing her deep burgundy leather jacket and sliding her arms into it as she walked to the door, she frowned at the thunder as it crashed again. It was not Gods judgement. After all, God was only a myth made up to give security to those not brave enough to face the frightening reality. Clicking off the lights, she walks down the hall and out the front door, walking through the gathering darkness to the bar she where she felt most at home.

 

[Dr. B Evil]

Aidan, the aloof stranger

Aidan peered into the bar before entering. It wasn't completely empty, but he knew there weren't enough people inside for him to remain anonymous. Still, the desire inside propelled him back to New Orleans, back to Mardis Gars, and through the doors in front of him.

Ian was no run of the mill vampire for he was not born from blood, just lust. His mother was an English maid that wandered over to Ireland shortly after Aidan's birth. His early years were spent roaming the Irish countryside with his aging mother, searching for a home that never appeared.

It was fending off an impending knee-capping from a mob outside a Limerick dive when Aidan realized that indeed he was something very different. Hence he began a quest to find himself. That quest led him New Orleans. An adolescent among vampires, even after 73 years he remained restless.

It was she who introduced him to his brethren. With her his blood ran cold, both soothing and enticing his nerves. She aroused in him the passion of his inner being. She helped unleash the beauty of the vampire hidden inside him.

There was no awning over the doorway, so the rain continued to soak in as he stood outside. Suddenly the door swung open and a swarm of bar patrons quickly splashed out into the flooding street. The door remained open, as if locked in a moment of time awaiting his entrance. Slowly he stepped through the doorway and into the darkened vestibule.

 

[ARaynes]

"Tristan"

She watched, seemingly forever waiting for the door to close and the person to walk in. "Well come in stranger. The rain leaves spots on the floor. What can I do you for?"

She looked around at the other patrons, wondering if they would want more to drink or leave as the others had done. Was a lonely night tonight.

A presense entered the room. Something familiar and yet not. "What type of drink would you like? I have some home made wine for the adventurous types." She called out to him, wondering if he knew what her meaning was.

 

[Dr. B Evil]

Aidan

His nerves fluttered upon hearing her voice. It was so familiar and yet at the same time he wondered if she would remember. For him, she was the catalyst in his self discovery.

It was just a wild weekend in New Orleans, but for the first time in his existence he had fully submitted himself. He also realized he was forever bound to his nether-family. Whereas true vampires are near immortal, he was dependent on blood lust for survival.

Visions raced through his mind as he tried in vain to find an answer for her. He desperately wanted to drink her wine, but he didn't want to come off like a foolish youngster again. Last time that happened she had him shackled for a week. Remembering his sensuous imprisonment, he cracked a smile and nodded "...what else?"

 

[JamieFraser]

Ian spots the hungry waif

Ian, an athletic man of some years and experience, red-headed, medium build and blue eyes.

_________

Ian sat at the bar, nursing his single malt and watching the old tavern clear out, enjoying the sound of the rain washing the dirt and garbage and God-knows-what-else off the 'Narlins' street. The rain made it more humid, as if that were possible, and he thought what it must be like in the summer, if this was early spring.

As he sipped, a table cleared off so that behind them, at a table for two, he could see the young woman, rail-thin, hair stringy and needing a shampoo. Her jeans were so low-rise they were more like knee socks joined at the crotch, and the little top showed the lower curve of her breasts, the only un-thin part about her. She was looking around, looking available, looking hungry.

He saw her glance at the accountant picking his nose over the sports page, and chuckled as she shuddered visibly and looked around again ... she'd declined the waiters second request if she wanted more coffee, and studiously ignored the bill by her saucer.

Ian stood, picked up his drink and change and raincoat from the stool next to him and walked toward the girl, watching her as her gaze turned and found him coming toward her. He watched for fear, and his nostrils flared as the scent of her body and cheap cologne reached him, strong. Yet not strong enough to cover the aroma of her blood rising from her skin.

"Mmmmmm," he thought, "young, fresh, tasty."

Arriving at her table, he pulled over a chair and sat across from her, putting his drink on a coaster and looked her square in the face, waiting for her to speak..

 

[ARaynes]

Tristan

She heard his voice, familiar. Was it true? Was he really here?

"Come into the light. I want to see your face." She spoke aloud, but to his mind, ::Aiden, is that you?::

She watched as he moved into veiw. It was him. Older looking, yet still youthful. She smiled before hopping over the bar and putting her arms around him.

"You've come to visit! How long? Please tell me you will be here a will. My very best wine for you, love, my very best." She walked around the counter only after giving him a long kiss. One she reserved for the few that had touched her heart.

She poured, smelling the rich coppery smell of blood mingled with grapes long gone sour. "I didn't think any of you would ever come to visit this old woman. I have missed you all." She smiled, waiting on him to say something. He sat, but didn't say anything.

"Speak! Cat got your tongue?"

 

[caspai]

Felicia

As she walks through the velvety darkness of the night, she hears the desperate laughter of people trying to forget their lives for just a few precious moments. Life lived for the moment alone was something Felicia knew very well. The desperate urge to forget the past and not think about the future drove people to do crazy, stupid things. She dodges the body of a man as she cuts through an alley. He was so far gone that he appeared almost dead, and very well could be soon, but she could feel the beat of the heart still. People rarely thought about how fragile human life really was. He, however, was of no interest to her at all. A bright flash of lightening was almost immediatley followed by the boom of thunder, and she jumped, and then shook herself. Just then, the skys opened up and poured down torrents of rain. Stopping, Felicia raised her face to the water, feeling it run through her hair and down her face. Raising her hands to her short, chestnut curls, she runs her fingers through them, and then moves on, kicking aside empty bottles and brightly colored plastic beads in the process. Warm light and brittle laughter flow out of a bar as a door opens, spilling out a group of young men with too much mischief running through them. She sees them eyeing her with interest, and returns their looks directly, meeting each pair of eyes independantly of the others. While they call out varied and assundry vulgarities, they make no move to approach, and with a wry twist of a smile, she deliberately turns her back on them and walks away. The night, even here, holds no dangers for her. Fear was for the weak. As the sad puddles begin to form from the continued onslaught of rain, she continues to walk toward her goal.

 

[StarXChyld]

Samatha

She tapped her ragged fingernails on the tabletop as she watched the clock over the bar tick away the minutes before she would be forced to approach the middle-aged nose-picker. Fidgeting slightly in her chair, she grew annoyed at the couple that rose from their table, obscuring her view of the clock. Within moments, they were gone and he came into her view. How had she missed him before?

Her mind raced with possible and plausible salutations she could use on him. Her heart started to beat heavily as she saw him rise and grab his raincoat. She needed to make her move now or lose the opportunity forever.

She reached down and grabbed her backpack, pulling it to her lap as the waiter came up and asked her if she needed anything else. Shaking her head, she craned past him to glance at the bar. He was gone! She started to sink back into her chair, defeated, when suddenly he was there, beside her, taking a seat at her table.

The opportunity renewed, she smiled broadly at him. This would be easier than she had thought!

"Hello." She let the word roll off her tongue seductively.

Even though he appeared old enough to be her father, he was sexy in an older man kind of way. Red curly hair that nipped at the nape of his collar, and bluer eyes than she had ever seen, seemed to pierce the veil of her very soul. For a moment, she grew nervous then the low growl in the pit of her stomach reminded her of the night’s mission. She straightened up in her chair, tossing a handful of long blonde hair over her shoulder coyly.

"You look like you’re getting ready to leave. Nasty night out there, eh? I hate thunder!" She shivered slightly for effect as her eyes scanned his ruggedly handsome face to see if he was taking the bait.

 

[Dr. B Evil]

Aidan

He felt a pleasant chill from his wet clothing as Tristan hugged him. Her exhuberance was unlike anything he could remember about her. He flashed back to past loves and victims, only to recall the visions of his seductive temptress now before him.

She was pure vampiress, and that concerned him. Yet he was also drawn to her. It was with her that he first tasted the purity he had been searching for all his life. Her wine was unlike any he had tasted before and since, and he was forever drawn to Tristan's being.

She stood before him, excited with the familiarity of the stranger. He looked over at her, admiring her beauty through blue speckled slits. He cocked his head and smiled. "I was cruising the mangroves of Brunei when I realized what time it was.", he winked with a wry smile.

He caught the coppery aroma of her homemade blood brew and glanced down at the divine drink twirling in his hands. "Ah yes," he whispered hoping she could sense his mood, "it was good that I decided to ..." His whisper trailed off as he turned his eyes back to Tristan, continuing to admire her.

 

[Lord Saxon]

Richard Saxon

The windows were shuttered and the curtians drawn tightly together. Save for one window at the end of the long room. That window faced the west and parted just enough to allow a stream of the fading sunlight to cast it's light on the wall.

The second movement of Beethoven's seventh symphony wafted softly though the room. There was no movement within. A visitor, if one was ever so unwise to visit this room, would have thought it empty. Peering into this darkness, the visitor might have percieved a lone figure sitting in a large chair between some of the shuttered windows, away from the dim light. Dressed in a black Armani suit with a midnight blue shirt, the gaunt figure held his handsin front of his bowed head. His deep blue eyes were closed. Perhaps he was in prayer. Perhaps in mourning. The slightly too long silver hair gave him a somewhat professorial look as if he were a denizen of a past era or simply an unkempt academic.

He had returned to New Orleans after a long absence. It was the perfect city for him. The decadence was both repellant and entrancing. Women were beautiful, tawdry and available. Life was cheap and untimely deaths were common. Most of the police were corrupt and the those that weren't, were inept. It wasn't the Big Easy, it was the Too Easy.

But it had been so long. So many times. So many. . . others. He was tired, wearied from life and the pursuit of it. He could end it. He could just. . .

But his hunger was great and his desire to continue this life, rather this existence, persisted.

The light against the wall faded once more and dimmed into darkness. He rosed silently from his chair and strode silently across the room. A remote control winked once and the music ended. Richard Saxon had returned to New Orelans. He exited the room and went out to wander among the bars in the city.

Darkness had returned to New Orleans.

 

[caspai]

Felicia

After a long walk through dark streets, Felicia finally approaches the bar, the end of her travels for the night. She is prepared to greet Tristan upon entering, but sees that she is already occupied, and does not appear to want an interruption. Shrugging her shoulders, she shakes her head, and drops of water fly from her head. Walking down the bar, she stops about halfway down and reaches over the bar to retrieve a clean and folded bar towel from the pile, just where they are always kept. She feels several pairs of eyes resting on her as she slides back to a standing position, and turns to stare directly, defiantly, at them as she uses the bar towel to soak some of the excess water from her hair.

Finishing that, she drops the bar towel onto the bar and reaches up to pull the leather jacket from her shoulders. Moving her arms down and slightly behind her, she lets the weight of the jacket pull it from her arms before catching the collar in her hands just before it falls to the floor. Folding it, she places it on the bar next to the wet bar towel. Feeling Tristan frowning at her, she looks back to her and winks. At the raised eyebrow, Felicia blows her a kiss, and picks up both the wet bar towel and the burgundy leather. Tossing the bar towel into the bag with its used brothers, she drapes the jacket over the back of a stool next to her before walking behind the bar.

Raising her hand, it unerringly finds the bottle of 151 rum. Pouring a double shot of it into a glass, she bends down to retrieve a pitcher of pineapple juice from the refrigerator under the bar, and fills the glass. Taking her drink, she again walks around the bar, and sits at the stool she had draped her jacket over. Looking at the small gathering of people still occupying the bar, she wonders if she should have bothered at all. Perhaps tonight would have been better spent lost in the memories that always seemed to haunt her.

 

[JamieFraser]

Re: Samatha

*** suddenly he was there, beside her, taking a seat at her table. ***

"Hello." She let the word roll off her tongue seductively.

"You look like you’re getting ready to leave. Nasty night out there, eh? I hate thunder!"

Ian, a man of some maturity

"Thunder is the way we are reminded how small we are, little one." His eyes penetrated hers as he sat, then scanned her hair and lingered on her throat, noting her pulse in the carotid, and licked his lips slightly. "I am new in town, and would like to engage someone to show me around. Do you know the city?"

He watched for her reaction as he added, "I am able to pay whatever your expenses might be to show me where a man might find a good time." His hand moved slowly across the table and lay inches from hers beside her coffee cup.

"Can I get you something? Perhaps a glass of wine? Or something stronger, perhaps?" His smile was deep, with a trace of something dark beneath the surface, as he surveyed the cheekbones of this thin, eager to please woman of the night.

 

[ARaynes]

Tristan

She watched him, and then noticed that Felicia walked into the bar. Felicia was one of her favorite regulars so when she went around the bar Tristan said nothing to her.

Looking back at Aiden, "What brings you here? Besides my glorious wine?"

She watched Felicia walk to her drink. "Darling, why don't you keep the bottle with you, that way you don't have to walk around the bar again."

 

[caspai]

Felicia

Looking over as Tristan addresses me, I smile at her.

"Why, thank you sweetheart. That will save on the shoe leather." As she says that, she lifts her leg to expose thigh-high boots, laced to mold the leather to her shapely leg, almost but not quite meeting the black leather of the mini-skirt.

Standing up again, Felicia strolls over and retrieves the rum and the pineapple juice, grabbing a bowl of ice as well. Picking up one of the cubes, she runs her tongue along one of the cold edges, eyeing the man with Tristan with interest.

"I would have said hello when I came in, but I thought you were otherwise occupied, and so pleasantly, as well."

Walking back around the bar, Felicia again perches on the edge of the stool, this time with her legs crossed so that if a person were to look very carefully, and obviously, they might be able to glimpse a piece of skin usually forbidden to public view. Out of the corner of her eye, Felicia saw a couple of rather tired looking middle-aged men trying to do just that, and smiled to herself. Men were so easy...

 

[ARaynes]

Tristan

Tristan watched as Felicia did her normal routine of teasing the men that came to "The Yew." Oftentimes she wondered if the men didn't come just to see the special Felicia.

"Felicia, Meet Aiden. The man that I once thought would steal my heart."

She watched to see if he would know that she too was like them. She wanted to see if her charms worked on him as they did the human males that were about.

 

[caspai]

Felicia

Being new to all these things that were happening to her, Felicia liked to play with her senses and sensations. The energy coming off Aiden was particularily interesting. Every other person like her she had met, other than Tristan, treated her like a baby, and she just absolutely hated that. Tristan was different, though, and she loved her for that fact.

Turning to fully face Tristan and Aiden, she wondered if the black lace halter she was wearing would have any affect at all on either of them. She had worn it especially for Tristan, but liked the affect it was having on the other men in the bar as well.

"You steal hearts, do you? Does that mean literally? I once knew a woman who had the heart of a small child. She kept it in a jar on her desk, next to the lamp. Is that how you steal hearts? If so, where do you keep them? I would soooo love to see them."

Flicking the ice cube with her tongue one last time, she popped it into her mouth and bit down very hard on it. It gave a delightfully loud crunching sound as she bit down. She caught the sight of Tristan rolling her eyes at her from the corner of her eye, and grinned.

 

[Lord Saxon]

The streets

He walked through the throng as they washed across the narrow back streets. The garishness of the lights, the noise of the music, the shouts of the drunken louts who milled around him all assaulted his senses. Every so often, one of the young women deluded by too much drink, would accost him and loudly offer to expose themselves.

"Not now" he softly demurred with an insincere smile. His hunger was awake but he would pick and choose who and when.

As he passed the rain-slicked streets, he had no particular destination. He would follow his instincts wherever they sent him.

As he wandered, he stopped suddenly as if thunderstruck. A glimpse of blonde hair, dashing through the crowd. Just for a moment, he thought that it could have been her. It couldn't be. It had been years before but those crystalline blue eyes still haunted his nights. He looked for her, pushing through the crowd but she had disappeared. Disturbed by the vision, he stopped by an unfamiliar bar and stepped in.

He planned to only stay a moment...

 

[ARaynes]

Tristan

Tristan watched the newcomer as he walked through the door. He looked as if he had been in the rain for quite a while now. "Hello there. What can I get you to drink?" She said, to him as her hand nervously wiped the counter.

She glanced over at Felicia to see if she had taken noticed of him. "We have all kinds of drinks here." She stated, "Even some exotic ones if you would like."

 

[caspai]

Felicia

Tristan's suddenly nervous movements seemed jarring to Felicia's experience with her. She had always been so comfortable with her surroundings, so calming and knowledgable about things that were a mystery to Felicia. Narrowing her eyes, Felicia looked closely at this mysterious stranger, studying him carefully.

Dipping a finger into her drink, stirring it casually, and then slowly licking the sweet tartness off of her finger, she stands up and walks over to Tristan, draping an arm around her shoulders.

"Welcome to the Yew, stranger. See anything interesting?"