not that that makes much of a difference in her line of work, but it's an observation all the same. the light drizzle adds a somewhat gloomy atmosphere to an area that is already gloomy enough on its own, or at least to some it is. to zara, the familiar alleyways and streets are home, and she's as comfortable maneuvering through them as she is beneath cotton sheets.
her destination isn't far, and it's a good thing it isn't given present company. the woman hooked on her arm had been given a significant dosage of drugs to her system just before they'd left the brothel, and she was already beginning to stagger along the cobbled sidewalk of the street. "keep it together, babe," zara murmurs, slipping her arm around the girl's waist instead to keep her better supported.
they take the back entrance to the club they arrive at, the music from within loud enough to hear faintly through the brick outside, but dancing isn't the evening's goal. instead of heading towards the overcrowded floor, zara walks a familiar path along the room's edge, to a skinny hallway leading to a backroom guarded by a single bouncer.
"i'm expected."
no other words need be exchanged as she is let in, the door sounding heavy as it closes behind her.
TAGZara Bennett NOTES N/A
The weather was gloomy outside, small puddles on the streets outside threatening to overflow into flooding of the city slums. North hated it; hated everything that had to do with the poor districts of Stronghold, especially during weather that made his normally sour mood that much more worse. Still, it wasn't like he could get what he was looking for in the Inner Citadel. Oh no, his tastes that day were much more... Taboo. Something he simply couldn't allow anyone close to him to find out. As prideful as the man was, sometimes he had to allow himself to stoop low like a dog just to bed fed a warm meal.
How disgustingly human.
Cool leather pressed against his lightly-clothed back as North settled further against the couch offered up to him in a private room of the club. Having power in both name and prowess was certainly something special; it garnered him certain rights without having to even ask for it. How much harder would this be if he wasn't some subservient Military dog? Tsk. No need to dwell on such things. A cool glass of vodka remains clutched between his fingers as his arms are limp along the back of the couch, a casual resting position as he awaits his dinner — delivery was so much better when it was fresh.
He smells the duo before he even hears them — before he sees them. Eyes are kept at a cool blue for the time being as North hides the monster lurking inside, screaming and threatening to claw its way out as the scent of human blood gets closer and closer. It's not much longer until the door swings open and North takes in the sight of the two women before him, the very corners of his mouth tilting upwards into a grin that seemed ill-placed on his face.
“Ladies, come in. Feel free to dry yourselves off from the rain,” the man coolly invites the women in with a dramatic flourish of his free hand, indicating towards the other cough in the room where two towels had already been laid out in wait for their arrival. He smiles with his lips, but there is no grin in his eyes.
“Bard there can fetch you anything you may want,” he continues with a dark purr as he indicates the bouncer that had allowed them into the room. Who ever said he wasn't a gentleman first — and a monster, second?
Posted 04-14-2021, 01:00 AMThis post was last modified: 04-15-2021, 04:16 PM by North Sigurd
his smile lacks any genuine warmth. it always has. zara is silently grateful for the rain now, because it gives her an excuse to shiver. of all the times she's come into contact with north sigurd, they've never been this close. a glance cast across the room, a hand raised in greeting; up until now the military man had always seemed so far away. unreal, almost. like a shade, walking among humanity. in a sense she supposes that's what he is.
only shades can't kill you with a single blow.
"what a gentleman," she murmurs in response, her voice kept soft and light as she offers north a smile of her own. a smile more human some might say, amicability reaching her eyes. she's no fool, though. neither of them came here to make friends.
"i'll have a vodka tonic. nothing for my companion," zara says to the bouncer, as she leads the other woman to be seated upon the couch north had invited them too. already the girl's movements have become sluggish, but this isn't the first time zara's dealt with a drugged-up damsel.
it's just the first time she's making a delivery, instead of providing aftercare.
even so, she's tender as she dries the woman off, removing the damp shawl about her shoulders and wringing water from wet brown hair. as she cleans she can't help but wonder why north and others like him were keen on having their dinner presented to them in such a manner. the victims were certainly consenting ones but... would it not be more enjoyable for them to be a little bit more lively?
as she finishes, zara leans forwards to press a chaste, practically innocent kiss upon the woman's cheek, her blue gaze flickering to glance at north as she does. "i hope you don't mind an audience," she says as she pulls away, pinching a tendril of still-wet hair between her fingertips and reclining against the couch.
"i've been asked to make sure no accidents happen."
TAGZara Bennett NOTES N/A I know. It's his gut reaction to Zara's comment on how he was such a gentleman, but he keeps the sarcastic comment to himself. It was ironic, really, to be calling such a monster something like that, and they both know it. She matches his smile with one of her own, but hers contains warmth, and life to it. He's quiet as she gives her drink order to the bouncer, who simply nods his head before leaving the room to fetch her drink, closing the door on his way out to give them some much desired privacy. North chuckles once he's gone, tilting his own vodka drink in her direction.
“Ah, a lady after my own heart! You have good taste,” he comments, words dipping low and sultry near the end as his eyes wander over to the drugged woman now laid gently upon the couch. Good taste indeed, he thinks to himself, curious if Zara had anything to do with the selection process.
He stays quiet to observe as Zara lovingly dries the other woman off, not even attempting to wipe the rain from herself first. How interesting. The silence stretches between the two of them, but the vampire isn't keen to break it anytime soon. He's content to simply watch as his food is prepared in front of him. Finally the woman is dry enough from the rain that the Jabberwockies associate is apparently happy enough, and North watches as she leans forward to press a chaste kiss against the woman's cheek.
Is she wishing her luck — or saying goodbye?
He senses the other woman's gaze on him and he turns his blue eyes towards her as she speaks, talking about him having an audience. Hah, Darien certainly had a voyeurism kink, didn't he? Or was this her own? It wasn't often a human wanted to watch Infected drink from their own kind. It was a rather... Gruesome affair. A huff of annoyance and insult slips between his lips as she continues speaking: did he really need a babysitter? How many times did he have to say sorry about making a mess before the Hearts Ace forgave him? It's not North's fault humans were so... Fragile.
“Heh, I'm hurt. Treating me like some dog that needs watching,” he muses, sitting forward for the first time to place his vodka on the table in front of him. Leaning forward, he reaches out with one lone hand and slides it underneath the right hand of the drugged woman. Fingers linked together he smoothly lifts her hand towards his mouth, placing just a chaste of kiss as Zara had given against the woman's cool skin.
“Make no mistake, I may be Military, but I am a lover first,” his eyes shift, making contact with Zara, “and monster second.”
Posted 04-12-2021, 04:53 PM
the devil's in the backroom
