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Private, Halifax 300+
He leaned back into the black char and poured the first drink. It was odd that he did not do this more often, because he always enjoyed a good drink, usually alone. The bar was as deserted as ever, and he was well content with that. No crying babies or whining mates, annoying members, no no, all quiet and it suited him perfectly. He took the vodka shot and shook his head brutally as his taste buds exploded and warmth spread down her throat and stomach. It had been a long time since he had last had a drink, plus he had not had much sleep last night, so he hoped the effect would come quickly. He was seated behind the bar where all the good stuff were easily acceptable, and he could amuse himself with playing the bar man, pouring lots of drinks that in the end would end up in his stomach. He gave a loud and satisfied sigh before he threw the shot glass into the wall on the other end of the room. The Lilium of Dahlia de Mai closed his eyes and smiled to himself.
His ears were still ringing with the constant sounds that went on nonstop in the cabin that had been only his a long time ago before mates and snotty kids. He did not completely hate what had happened to his once so quiet home, but it was great to get it all on distance for a little while. He had taken the day off and left Dahlia behind, and he had intended to spend the day getting drunk and doing nothing. He had been a good boy, so he definitely deserved it. A pink tongue appeared to slightly wet his dark lips before he opened his eyes and started pouring himself another glass of the foul alcohol.
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The bar was not empty, as Ly quickly found out, spotting the male pouring himself a drink. Ears laid flat against his skull and Ly considered turning back, but it was the first time since being accepted he had ventured outside of Phoenix Valley and he wouldn’t let a little company ruin his good time. He had spotted the bar, knowing what it was immediately. The husky mix had come across one or two in his time, and he was glad to discover there was one so close to his pack land, he could only hope that the bottle the stranger held had been found here, not brought along. Closing his eyes, Lysander mentally dressed himself for the occasion, picking out his personality for the night, adding it to his mental list of all the people he could be. Devoted and weak for DaVinci, a pervert for Whinifred. An alcoholic would be a nice addition.
Strolling up, Lysander gave the male what appeared to be a genuine smile. Without hesitation he came up straight to the bar, giving no indication that he was disappointed or surprised to find anyone else here. Instead, he decided, this male belonged here. In fact, as far as Ly was considered he worked here. Tapping his hand quickly on the bar, he nodded to the male, as if this was all preplanned. “Barkeep, give me a little of everythin’ ya’ve got, an’ make it quick!”
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300+
Ah, he had a lonely customer. The male got up from his chair as the husky hybrid entered the scene, and have him a dry nod as a welcome to Haku’s bar. He mindlessly picked up a dry and dirty piece of cloth and let it run across the dusty surface of the bench that separated them. The other man gave his order, and Haku was more than ready to play along with the brute. ”Certainly, Sir.” The chocolate male replied obediently. Quickly he shoved his own full shot glass to the side and gesticulated to the male that he should take a seat. Though he had intended to spend the evening alone getting drunk all by himself, it was a small possibility that this man could be worthy company. The Lilium of Dahlia de Mai placed ten shot glasses on the desk that separated them, all of them in a fine line, and then emptied the bottle filling the shot glasses in a single pour, barely spilling anything at all.
”I strongly recommend Russian Standard for starters. It has a classic, clean taste, but with a sweet finish that will entertain your taste buds for the rest of the evening.” Without waiting for a reply, he ducked under the wooden furniture and fished up every flask he could find. There was a lot, and he lined them up on the side, so that they both had everything they wanted within reach. ”Self service for now, even barkeeps need to get their daily drinks.” With that, the brown brute reached out for his own glass and raised it silently to the other before he emptied it with ease. The stranger’s coat hinted Phoenix Valley, but Haku could not be cared about packs and titles. He hated the usual conversations wolves created most of the time when they did not belong to same pack. He gave shit, he wanted to drink and have a merry time, not some awkward conversation that was destined to die within minutes.
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Lysander was delighted to find that the male played along, even though he did not clearly work here. Without missing a beat, Lysander sat as the male had gestured him to do so and he scooped up a shot glass, it was gone in less than two seconds. It went down easily, Ly knew that he was far too accustomed to this type of drink for it to be good for him, but it was hard to stay away. Even harder not to take another shot. Two shot glasses were empty and a minute hadn’t even passed since he had seated himself. Ly grinned at the barkeep.
Without missing a beat, his voice was natural and normal, and indicated that Ly thought the male really worked here. “What do they pay ya for a gig like this?” Of course, he knew the question was silly, canines had jobs and titles within a pack, they might barter and trade, but one would not be appointed to such a lonely, dead place. Yet his face only indicated sincere curiosity. Perhaps once the cities were devoid of leftover alcohol and other such fun goodies, the pack who had a monopoly on such items would truly need a barkeep to guard and dole out their wares, it would be a fun job. Something Lysander could do to pass the time, but it worked just as well to just pretend. Reality was only what one made it, as far as Ly was concerned, and this barkeep and Ly as a the lonely customer was real.
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500+
The husky drank the strong spirit like it was soda. A smirk had quickly settled on Haku’s scarred features. The Lilium could easily appreciate a proper drinker. It was rather merry to be two in the bar for a change. Haku had always taken his drinks alone whenever he felt like getting wasted, and so had never really learned to appreciate good company in an alcohol-daze. His blue eyes followed the stranger’s hand, but it had taken a break at two shots. It was obvious this man was a hardcore drinker, had Haku ever seen any. There was no visible sign that the other man’s throat was burning, so there had to be some experience in there. Haku relaxed. Although the chocolate man had never been tense in the first place, there was always a touch of wariness whenever he was introduced to someone new. One could never know if they were enemies or allies. Take that dressed up coyote half a month ago, suddenly lashing out after him without giving any reasons. There was of course no doubt that the coyote had known of something he had done, but it had irritated the brute to not even know which sin he was being punished for. There was another aura around this customer. There was something eerie about him, but it had nothing to do with Haku, and so their first meeting would be destined to end in some strange acquaintanceship.
Haku shrugged as the man asked how his payroll looked like. Truth be told, Haku would have fitted perfectly into a hardcore biker bar. He could be sensible, but if there was any smartasses around, he would quickly teach them their place. The three year old wolf added it to his list of doable jobs. So far he only had two, foot soldier and barkeep. Excellent. He shook his head depressively as he poured himself a drink from a random bottle with golden liquid. He would soon learn it was a rather poor whisky brand. ” Not enough, I’d say. Never enough.” He raised his glass slowly, suddenly wishing he had cigarettes. Why else would he drink? Truth be told, he imagined being a barkeep would have been a rather fun experience. He did not know under what circumstances the humans had used to work in, but the cocoa and cream coloured wolf imagined they were allowed to drink on the job. What could be better than to have a job where one could be drunk every day? Haku was not one to get strong hangovers, so he had only experienced the positive effects of alcohol. His stomach could take a lot before it twisted and brought things up, and it had not happened yet with too much liquid.
Haku emptied his full glass. The Lilium’s taste buds were not as healthy as they once had been, and this made drinking easier, although Haku was not aware of this fact. His throat burned and his stomach moved uncomfortably. ”Trash.” The word was barely out of his mouth by the time the half full bottle of bad whisky hit the wall on the other side of the room. His full focused went back to the husky. ”So, what’s on your mind? I see you pour down them drinks like water.” He would not know how to start this role play conversation properly. Haku had never been a big fan of innocent games, not even as a child. He preferred darker games with more at stake. All he could do was to watch and learn. He liked this guy already.
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The husky brute drained two more shot glasses as the barkeep lamented the woes of his job. Not enough pay, Ly nodded sagely as if he understood that story all too well. And maybe he did, maybe sometimes he did not feel that the appreciation for his skills was enough, sometimes others did not appreciate them at all, the morons. He picked up two more, one after another. Six down, four to go. Unsure of just why, he liked doing it in pairs. One shot just wasn’t enough, but three was pushing it to take all at once, even if to the male they were as sweet as candy. Staring at the last shot glass to have been emptied he sighed nostalgically, as if wondering where the warm brown liquid had gone to.
Trash. He did not flinch at the sudden movement of the male, or the crash behind him. Merely he turned to see the broken glass and the alcohol seeping into the wooden boards of the floor. He regarded it almost sadly, he would have drunken it, he had had some pretty horrid stuff in his day, but it still got the job done. Didn’t the barkeep know that sometimes it was hard to find such alcohol still bottled and ready from the human days? He had yet to meet a canine who could brew the stuff properly and consistently. Shrugging he turned back to his shrinking line of shot glasses. Two more gone.
Lysander perked his ears at the question and immediately he fell into the role. Why yes, come to think of it, he was miserable about something, but what? Lysander wasn’t even sure what he would say until he opened his mouth to speak. “Ah, well ya see, it’s like this: I miss my old clan. They gave me the boot. My mate, she took another lover… and he happened to be the big boss around those parts. Fuckin’ alpha. Can’t argue with that when he had the whole damn pack backin’ him up. Asshole.” Ah, so that was what had been bugging him, hmm? It was a sad story and to cheer him up he took the last two shots.
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500+
Haku had no issues whatsoever to discard whatever. Alcohol grew less and less common as creatures learned to drink and appreciate it, but Haku had no thoughts for that. Frankly, the possibility that they would run out one day had never occurred to him. There seemed to be enough alcohol everywhere in the city (there were plenty of stores that had sold the burning liquid), and parts of Dahlia were old vineyards where there were incredible amounts of almost every kind of wine. The Lilium had even run into a random building once, and in the cellar he had discovered a fine human gentleman’s hobby-room. This room held more bottles with alcohol than he had ever seen in one place, and they were all different brands and tastes, never opened. Haku had been impressed, and instantly understood the value of the neatly lined up alcohol, and had left the building. Of course, first he had found the key to the room and the key to the house, and then locked it all up. Maybe he would want to return to that house later on, but did not want anyone else to find the room that Haku now considered his. Haku did not drink a lot, and he did not fully understand why the human had kept every bottle unopened and untouched, but he wanted this to be his and only his. Haku was proud of his foolish small obsessions, no matter how pathetic they might seem to others.
Haku nodded slowly as the other male picked up on the cue and started about how he missed his old clan and the shit that had been done to him. The Dahlian wolf’s nod turned to a shake while he tsked out in the alcohol filled air, silently supporting the male as the husky spoke. That seemed rather tough. ”May your former alpha catch a brain-tumour and die.” He gave a loud sigh as he chose a random bottle where the brand etiquette had been removed. He poured some and tasted it carefully. The strong scent had already hinted another version of vodka, but it could be worse. It even had some weird after taste of lemon. Haku was not sure what he should say, because both the man’s clan and his bitch sounded like a bunch of pathetic wolves. Maybe the chocolate man could offer the man some brief sentences about his own miserable life. ”Sounds like both of us are having a rather shitty time. I’m the next in command in one of the packs here, but the majority of the pack can’t stand me. My woman is a hardcore bitch with no more love than extra limbs. I’m a disloyal prick and I am a father to at least four, although I don’t know the final number. A ladies man, I think they call it.” Perhaps this would not create the best first impression so far, but Haku was somewhat beyond the point of caring much any longer. He emptied the glass, finally recognizing some of the dazzling effects of the alcohol. It had been too long since his last glass of firewater.
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Ly smiled as the other wished harm upon the imaginary pack alpha Lysander hated so. Even if there was no such male, it was nice the other wished him all the worst, it cheered Lysander up immensely. The alcohol came at him all at once, which also cheered him. Ten shots had been a lot to take so quickly and he could feel his head cloud, his hand become heavy. Lysander grinned at the feeling and grabbed for another bottle, forgetting protocol and manner and drinking it straight from it’s container. He didn’t think the bar keep would mind. Nodding between sip, Lysander listen to the male’s story. A ladies man? He could sympathize. Momentarily he thought about Whinnie, but quickly chased her away with another guzzle of the booze.
“They neva’ appreciate hard workers. Why don’t cha leave ‘em?” Ly noted that as the alcohol made the rounds through his blood stream, his speech became looser. He sounded more like Leland, Lyle and his father. Yet the happiness the drink gave him was a good enough trade off, he could sound like a moron as long as he was drunk. “You love yer women?” The question was honest. Lysander fooled around and never thought twice about it, he did not feel guilty and would not consider himself a disloyal prick. Yet he had never loved anyone else but himself.
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300+
Haku felt a rather comfortable tipsiness slowly caress his body. He loved the gentle effect, the path it always chose. It came down together with the drink, but went its own paths once it reached the throat. Warmth bloomed in body, then in mind, and the pretty glasses were taken on, the thickness of the glass increasing together with the drinking. Brilliant blue eyes helplessly witnessed the customer grabbing a bottle. My, my, how rude. Well, the barkeep had announced self service, so he could not exactly complain about it. The Lilium grinned, content about the drinking partner he had found (or, that had found him). Little did the Dahlian male know that this was the man that would hold his sons for a whole month. If he was to find out at all, only the future could tell.
A snort sounded when the male stated those too fucking true words. It was followed by a rather tricky question. Haku had actually never fully been able to justify exactly why he bothered to stay around. At the moment everything was a huge mess, and so the most natural thing for the chocolate and cream male to do would simply be to leave and settle down somewhere else. Though, he believed he actually did like his status and some of the creatures in the pack. Besides, the Soul man was still relatively sane, and he was usually a man of his words. Or, so he believed for now. He had convinced himself that he stayed because of his promise to Cercelee, and for some of the individuals in the pack. He also wanted more misery. He had not done his job just yet.
”Can’t leave them yet, I need to finish what I’ve started first.” Haku did not reach for another drink. ”Love is a strong word, isn’t it?” Haku snorted, and wondered exactly when the male had asked this (he seemed unable to remember hearing the question), but apparently he was able to answer, so it must have been at one point. ”Heart asks for pleasure first.” It was a quote from somewhere. Truth be told, that was all that Haku’s heart usually asked for. He liked his women because they gave him pleasure. Haku quite liked sex, and women did not seem to refuse him very often. He had only fallen hard once, and that was with the long dead Hollow. The hybrid had never loved the chocolate teen back, and they had never seen each other again (not while alive, that was).
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Lysander nodded, more concentrated on consuming the liquid he possessed than the speech that was going on. Still, he was a multi-tasker and a skilled one at that. Effortlessly he chimed in when needed. “Mmm, hmm yeah, need ta finish wha’cha started!” Lysander did not like to leave a job left undone either, though he did not take on long term commitments on principal. For the first time since leaving his clan he had taken up residence in a pack, but to him that meant little. He would stay for as long as it was comfortable. His blooming friendship with Whinnifred was something, but again, it was an option for only as long as it brought him pleasure. Why the bar keep kept working for others that brought him no joy, he did not know.
“Yeah.. maybe love ish a strong word… maybe real men don’t love.” Loving someone made you weak. You could have affection, feelings of friendship, lust and even care about something, but love? Loving a child was okay, they were you in another body, the fruit of one’s loins. They carried the DNA to keep your line continuing. But to love a women? It was foolish. “Ah think something else ahsks for pleasure first…” Lysander was familiar with the organ that spoke louder than either the brain or the heart, he answered its call pretty often. “Ya don’t need a mate fer that!” That was the truth.
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So I only ignored you for nearly a month!
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300+
All in all, this was useless chatting, and the incident would appear blurry and inconsequential in the morning. This was the beauty of alcohol plus company. The heart could be ridden of burdens and thoughts that clung so desperately to it, and so they would be able to go on with lighter spirits and a minor headache and bile in the back of the mouth. The luperci had raced far ahead and there was no possibility to catch up, but this was not an issue. The cocoa and sand coloured male did not particularly like becoming wasted and swallowed by the enchanted liquid that burned in their stomachs. The man behind the bar let a nail trace the mouth of the wine he just had opened, debating whether he should down the blushed liquid or not. Promises were meant to break. It was obvious that it was not his promise to the Rosea alone that kept him here, but that was the only explanation he could reach for.
The man’s words were considered. Haku did not know what attributes real men had. He had never considered himself one. He was only a beast, another creature in this peculiar society where they all strived to become the deceased human race. He should never have attempted to love the shallow female. He had accepted it now, and would not make such a mistake again. His genes were carried by an indefinite number of offspring, and so his job in this world was finished, biologically speaking. Was it reproduction that was the driving power behind the pleasure from sex? Haku did not want kids, but he loved the process that resulted in pregnancies. The Dahlian grimaced at the wine bottle, silently scolding the toxic water for making him thoughtful.
”No, don’t need a mate for that,” the man murmured, his eyes moving up to take in the husky. Maybe he should just get it over with and leave her. Reset the mateship and have her and the kids move out. Haku loved his solitude. It would be nice to be able to return to his own lonely ocean. His eyes kept resting on the other man, but the mind was absent.
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Lysander watched the male as he took another swig, large triangular ears perked forward, waiting for more words to come. The man’s speech merely confirmed what Lysander had already established. A little disappointed, Lysander nursed his drink in silence. It seemed if this man was thinking much at all, he was not sharing it. A pity. Lysander liked conversing, learning about people, their situations, just what exactly made them tick. Even if he did not give them the same in return, he liked to hear the truth come out of people. Perhaps it compensated for his own lack of truth.
His hands felt heavy but his head was light and Ly finished off the bottle with a satisfied smacking of his lips. Setting it gingerly on the counter, he stood, and felt contended with the way the floor swayed beneath him and the room blurred and moved on it’s own. “Ah’ll be...” Lysander headed out the door of the bar, having meant to relay the message he would return, but the alcohol was working on all his organs, including his bladder. Outside he relieved himself, it seemed the steady stream of urine coming from him just would not stop. The time seemed to drag on and finally when he felt empty and comfortable again he forgot all about the man in the bar as he stumbled off, drunkenly into the night.
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