london ♔ well i'm not paralyzed | but i seem to be struck by you

[moonheart]

♬ take it off - ke$ha

WHO || Andie, Faith, Jordan, Fiona, Faye, Bo, anyone else! [Closed]
WHAT || Andie's birthday bash! ... with a twist
WHERE || The Silver Band dance club
WHEN || April 1st, after 11pm [backdated]
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread, don't worry about maintaining tagging order.

Being friends with someone as spontaneous as Faith can have its perks. She's invited the entire under-30 crowd at the castle to come celebrate her friend Andie's 21st birthday at an exclusive dance club called the Silver Band in downtown London.

The club is swirling with colors, as disco balls reflect silvery light that catches on the large quantities of glitter that cover just about every surface. The main dance floors are made of transparent glass, and the club is multi-storied, so that you can choose to dance higher up and see everyone below under your feet. Below the ground floor is a strange black canopy that seems to reflect odd flickering lights, almost like stars. There's a sort of classic opulence to the decor, and hallways branch off here and there to private rooms out of sight. Floating lights bob around the ceiling, that look almost like crystalline balls, except they're light as bubbles and can pop when touched.

Strangely, there are cobwebs in various areas of the club, mostly out of reach, as if it hasn't had occasion to be cleaned in awhile, but there's no traces of grime or dirt anywhere. Faith has a private room procured off one of the halls for the mini-buffet, because how can it be Andie's birthday without food??

Comments

[ex_noble101]

You'll have to point her out to me if you get the chance. [Aedan figures that offering up a 'Happy Birthday' is the least he could do since he's enjoying her party.

And then the two drinks he ordered are placed in front of him--one of which he proceeds to slide toward Brantley. Now that he actually sees the presentation, Aedan's starting to wonder if he shouldn't have stuck with something simple...]

[fixyourproblem]

Sure, no problem. [He smiles, agreing to help. And when the drink is presented to him, he gladly takes it and thanks Aedan with another smile.] Cheers? [He raises his glass.]

[ex_noble101]

[Sugary alcoholic mess or no, he wasn't going to deny the other man that drink. He lifts his glass when Brantley does, and even offers up a toast--]

To new friendships. [It may have been a little presumptuous at this point, but they were comrades in arms and fuck if Aedan didn't need all the bros he could get.]

[fixyourproblem]

[The drink might look like something a sweet-tooth would order, but it is quite.. well, okay it's sweet. Definitely not the type that would get you drunk in a single gulp. Better luck, next time.]

To new friendships. [Brantley doesn't mind at all, he prefers people being presumptuous and bold rather than being distance. Besides, one can never have enough bros. He chuckles a bit at that before he completes the toast and takes a sip.]

[ex_noble101]

[That'll mark the first and last time he asks Brantley for a drink recommendation. Aedan still didn't understand the need for people in this world to mix such large amounts of liquid sugar with their alcohol. Ah well, you live and you learn. He'll sip at his own drink after Brantley takes the initiative to do so first.]

Have you been with the knights for very long? [Small talk is go.]

[fixyourproblem]

Hmm... Not that long but I've been with the Knight for quite some time. Exactly seven months today. [Many things have happened and though he has been with the knight for a while, he feels like his squiring ceremony was just a moment ago. Still fresh in his mind, the day where he wore a knight's armor and fell on the ground.] Not as long as you I guess. I'm guessing you were squired long before me? [Brantley was in every squiring party since he joined and he is pretty sure Aedan was not squired in one of them.]

[ex_noble101]

Not long before you, it seems. I've been here a year now. [Said before taking another sip of his sugar cocktail. He made it a large sip this time--a gulp, if you will. The faster he could finish this, the faster he could order anything else.]

We should train together sometime. I'm always open to new partners. [Plus, it was nice to spar against someone new every so often--someone he didn't know, and couldn't predict as easily as those whose fighting styles he's grown more accustomed to.]

[fixyourproblem]

Yeah, sure. [He follows Aedan's way and takes a large gulp. Brantley is not a fighter, but he doesn't mind having a spar once in a while. It keeps his body in shape.] I'm more of a brawler than a sword-fighter though. [His punch might not be as painful as getting slashed with a sword, but it still hurts when it hits you in the face.] So, if you're looking for a sword-clashing partner, I'm only as useful as a training dummy.

[ex_noble101]

I'm used to fighting with a blade, myself. [Two, in fact.] Still, it couldn't hurt to practice without one from time to time. You never know when the situation may call for it.

[fixyourproblem]

Yeah, you never know when an assassin attacks you while you're taking a bath. [He chuckles a bit. It might not be funny for Aedan, but for Brantley, that kind of stuff only happens in the movies.] And maybe you could teach me a thing or two about sword? Never know when you need to slay a dragon. [He chuckles again. Movies.]

[ex_noble101]

[Aedan just ... thinks Brantley's being entirely serious. Assassins, dragons--he's familiar with both scenarios.]

It would be my pleasure. [Another gulp of that sugar nightmare.]

[fixyourproblem]

[Seeing how Aedan drinks, Brantley realizes the man doesn't handle sweet well(sense motives 19). He finishes the drink in one go before trying to give Aedan a small relieve.] I think that's enough for the warm-up. Let's have something stronger for the next round. [He calls the bartender and orders two glasses of scotch for them.] So, what's your story? Joining the knight and everything?

[ex_noble101]

[Yes, please. Brantley is earning approval points. Keep it up.]

It's probably fairly obvious, but I'm not native to this world. The last thing I recall before I found myself here was stepping through a magical artifact. It's taken some getting used to. This world and the one I know are almost entirely different. The knights offered me purpose here. Since I can no longer fight for my own cause, I've chosen instead to take up that of the knighthood.

[And sometime during his little explanation, their new drinks were set before them. Aedan takes his, immediately glad to have something a little more akin to what he's used to.]

That's the short version, in any case. What about you?

[fixyourproblem]

[Brantley has been living his whole life in this world of urban fantasy. He has seen lots of cases like Aedan, but each of them is sad no matter how it happened. Being taken away from your home and from your loved ones. Getting stranded on a strange land. He didn't experienced it as extreme as Aedan but he was also dragged out from the life he used to live.]

Well, I was working as a fixer, someone who provides illegal services to people. Smuggling people in and out, providing fake documents, bribing authorities, something like that. I did it to help people like you, who arrived into this world possibly at the wrong place and wrong time, and didn't have much choice but to use services like mine so they could survive and adapt in this world.

[He takes just a small sip at his drink before continuing.]

It might be a little twisted that I became a criminal to save people, but I really think that I have helped lots of people. And when the Knight found me, they offered me a place where I could help more lives and still do what I do best. I accepted their offer and here I am. Enjoying a drink with a real Knight.

[He ends his story with a smile.] Not a bad road to take, right?

[ex_noble101]

Not bad at all. It sounds like you've made a noble choice, in fact--giving up something of yourself in order to help others like myself. From what I hear, not everyone is so lucky when they arrive. Men like yourself are heroes in your own right as far as I'm concerned.

[He lifts his glass, as though to salute the other man for his actions, before taking a drink.]

[fixyourproblem]

[He beams broadly at that. Not everyday you are called a hero, especially by a real sword-wielding hero.] I'm just doing what I think is right. Besides, I like being a fixer, I make friends fast and I could get out of troubles easily. And it still can't be compared to people like you, who put their lives on the line to defend the weak. [He is not sure if Aedan is actually a hero, but he gets that assumption by observing the way Aedan expressed his words up until now.]

[ex_noble101]

I wouldn't say that, exactly. [Man, what is it with everyone in the knighthood selling themselves short? I guess Aedan is here to remind y'all what's up.]

You said yourself that the activities involved in assisting those like myself are not exactly smiled upon by this world's authority. I imagine if you were caught there would be some sort of repercussion, wouldn't there?

You risk your freedom, or worse, to ensure that men and women who are without the means of defending themselves are able to find safety before they've had a chance to acclimate to this world.

[Long story short: don't be so modest. You're doing more than your part and you should recognize that fact.]

[fixyourproblem]

[Brantley has never been complimented this much and with a bit of alcohol in his blood, his face reddens a bit, feeling hot and embarrassed at the same time.] Well, the job surely has its risk, but nothing as dangerous as werewolves-hunting. And it's not like I was a saint. I did some bad stuffs too. Helped real criminals did their job. But, let's save those stories for another time, shall we? Don't want to ruin the drinks with dark and gloomy stories. [He sends out a light smile before taking another sip of his drink.]

[ex_noble101]

[And just when it was starting to get good. Delve deep into your criminal past.]

I'll have to hold you to that. [Said before taking another drink from his own glass.]

[fixyourproblem]

No problem at all. But surely you know good information is not free. You have to pay for it. [He smirks playfully as he jokes around.] And I don't accept money for information this big, so you'll have to figure out how you will pay for it. [His smirk turns into a grin before he takes another sip.]

[ex_noble101]

[O-oh. So that's how it was. And here Aedan was feeling even more flirtatious than normal for whatever reason.]

I'm fairly certain I'll be able to come up with something.

[fixyourproblem]

[Brantley was thinking about another drink coupled with deep dark secrets as the form of payment, but if Aedan has another way to pay up, he'll accept it nonetheless.]

I'll be waiting for your payment then.

[He sends out a playful devilish grin.]

[ex_noble101]

Why wait?

[Wow way to pimp yourself out for old war stories, Aedan. Although it was less about the potentially interesting stories at this point. If that ... helps. In his defense, he's feeling the effects of the club by now, which is why he was being a little more forward than he would have been otherwise.]

[fixyourproblem]

[As said, Brantley doesn't mind people being forward at all. He laughs a bit at that. Usually, he is the one who is not being subtle at all.]

Well, I definitely don't mind if you want to pay up now. But I don't think here is a good place for a seedy transaction. Maybe somewhere more private.

[He chuckles a bit. He still thinks Aedan is just playing with him, so he replies with a cheerful tone rather than a flirtatious tone.]

[ex_noble101]

[Legit could not stop laughing at the use of the term "seedy transaction" between two men. I'm a horrible person.

Aedan downs the rest of his drink like a pro, then decides "fuck the police" and reaches over to grab Brantley by his jacket so as to pull him in for a kiss (dexterity 21). Sorry but not sorry if the sudden action made you spill your drink all over yourself...]