RP:Broken
The Office
The Office is on the classier end of seedy cabaret/exotic dancing establishments. Which is to say that it boasts an actual chef, as in a person who studied to make food, and has enough bouncer presence on the floor to offer at least some low alcohol content beverages. Similar to other establishments of this nature, it's got your well lit stage, poles, a diverse cast of dancing women, and surrounding them a population of tables, velvet wing-back chairs, couches, and people who've got nothing better to do (most of them men).
Irenic is here unknowing that the place is ran by a man named Hudson who his ex is in love with, thus ending said relationship… If one could actually call it that? It’s all very complicated. Even if someone told him the name, he still wouldn't know because he never got a name. For the most part he keeps his mouth shut today and enters the establishment as one deformed Avian. No wings, mismatched gaze, long pointy ears…. Yadda, yadda. The only thing different today seems to be his attire as he dawns a fitted black button down shirt, clean and pressed black slacks and black dress shoes. To accent the black is a green and black diagonal striped tie and cufflinks to match. His disconnected haircut slicked back which only seems to accent his age lines and bored brooding expression. He pays his way into the establishment as it seems he’s actually come into money again and decides to sit at the bar section for now so he can lay down serious coin for the strongest whiskey they've got. He motions for a glass with some ice and fills it with the whiskey in order to drink deeply from it like it was nothing and he can’t explain that some days are better than most to what he does and does not remember, but today he clearly remembers leaving his love last night who activated his damn curse and won’t say it, but he’s hurting.
Meri is not a total stranger to The Office, though good luck getting her to admit she was a fan of the place -- though Eleanor had recently inspired some hope for that. Usually when Meri came to this joint there were only a handful of people she was seeking to meet with, sitting around and drinking while watching the dancers is not really what brings her here. However, whatever business she does come here for is soon forgotten when she spots a familiar avian at the bar, dressed better than she usually sees him dressed and actually paying for his own coin? Top shelf too? It's behind the bar that Meri goes, having a brief exchange with the bartender, Martin, while openly staring at Irenic. The woman was basically seeking confirmation that he was paying for himself, it did not seem as likely that a woman would stroll through and offer to pay for his drink for the night in this joint. Martin confirms the details of what Meri has just witnessed. It's behind the bar that Meri stays, though she does come to stand opposite of where Irenic sits, placing her tattooed hands on the bar and drumming the fingers of the left against the surface. "Irenic. What brings you out this way?" Meri is oblivious to the Irenic/Valrae/Hudson love triangle, no warning comes. "And actually dressed up? And paying for your own drink? This is not how I usually come across you. Boozing it up sure. So what's different tonight? Something eating at you?"
Irenic, as usual, is drawn to her entrance and watches her every move openly just as she was doing to him. She addresses him and though he is surprised, it doesn’t show, but it’s her red painted lips that reminds him once more when mismatched gaze falls on them. A moment of blank staring and some sort of arrogant smirk printed on his face while he was slowly, accurately, remembering their encounters. When she mentions his attire and being able to pay for his drinks for once he sort of rolls his eyes playfully at her with that devious smirk of his still played on scarred lips. He decides to answer her first question with a simple raise of his glass before the contents empties so he must refill it once more, but, wait. He motions for more ice from her, “La glace,” before actually refilling his tumbler. He elaborates a little as he points to the drink and then an ex over his heart covered up by fine black shirt material now, “et l'amour.” So, he was here for booze and a broken heart.
Meri can tell that Irenic remembers her, it is painfully obvious from the way he watches her to the way he reacts to her. Red lips curl up into a smirk of their own in the face of the one Irenic sends her way, remaining steadfast despite the devil may care attitude he is presenting. For a split second Meri actually assumes that he is trying to get her to fetch him ice, until he refills his tumbler himself. There is a moment where her eyes narrow until she comes to the correct realization. She is rather taken aback by the answer that she does get to, but there is only a brief pause before she fires off with another statement. "So you are here to help mend your broken heart, are you. You have come to the right place. Fine booze here, pretty dancers to." For some reason, though, there was a false ring to those words and she did not sound particularly sympathetic to Irenic's plight. "Tell me exactly, Irenic. How long has this heart of yours been broken?" The woman removes her hands from the counter, standing with tattooed arms folded across her chest and brow lifted. "Was it broken...The last time I saw you? Or the time before that?"
Irenic understands her body language entirely, she thinks she has some sort of part in what happened, but his expression doesn’t give away his clue. Easily putting away half of the filled tumbler he slowly tries to explain that his love has always loved another in their brief time together, even adding in pantomimes to his Veretian words, “Mon amour…. Aime quelqu'un d'autre.” Then he tries to remind her that his mind doesn’t always work in his favor as a finger of his own presses to a crows feet temple, “Ma mémoire est mauvaise... grâce à ma malédiction.” The slowly explained words would have been, ‘my memory is bad… because of my curse.’ A sigh before he downs the rest of his drink and admits that it was broken before he even met her, but last night he finally told his ex, again, adding motions and gestures that may help. “ J'ai vu il y a quelque temps ce qu'elle faisait ... Mais hier soir, j'ai finalement rompu les choses.” Which would have been, ‘I saw a while ago what she did.... But last night I finally broke things off.’ At this unfortunate time a woman comes up and attempts to pull him away from the bar he had been leaning on, but he gently pulled himself back and gave her the ‘wait’ finger before shooing the dancer away.
Meri is silent for a long time, her understanding of the language is weak to say the least and she is left trying to ascertain the meaning from the words that do make sense to and what they have managed to establish in the past. The dancer that comes to pull Irenic away is given a bit of a smirk, not a jealous one by any means, but it sort of suggested the two women have probably encountered each other at this establishment before. "He'll be right with you, dollface. I promise." There is a wink for the dancer before Meri's gaze smoothly slides back to the avian. "I know. Your memory." She seems to understand what Irenic is saying, relatively, or if she feels like most of it is just some sketchy justification that men are prone to giving. it's not clear. "I guess...You just didn't seem so broken up about it the last two times that I encountered you. Unless you were just out for revenge. Tit for tat so to speak? She did you wrong..." Meri shrugs in an it is what it is sort of manner as she considers what the means her role would be in all of it. "Seems to me like now that it's really over, you're actually torn up. I don't know, Irenic. Kind of sounds like you are holding things against her that you yourself are guilty of lately...But what do I know? I can barely understand half of what you say most of the time." Red lips curl up into a wry grin. "Anyway, I believe your cure for a broken heart is waiting, how can you say no to a show from such a cute little thing?"
Irenic would if he could explain he isn’t the jealous type in the least and the fact his ex cheated means nothing to him. This situation is different because there are unseen forces at work here, in which need special care and attention and he was obviously not worthy of. He is reminded of his orphan days when the Monstre orphanage dubbed him as such (a monster) and realizing it’s all tied together. You reap what you sow in any reality, on any land, and it seems his damning deeds have caught up to him. It’s all a joke, really. He shakes his head to her mention of revenge for he is never that petty for he really is attracted to Meri, dare he say that, she is different in the basic sea of Lithrydel, “Non. Vous êtes différent, Meri.” He’s being pawed at once more, but gets a little irritated now by just ignoring the dancer at this point.
Meri lets her arms fall back down to her sides before reaching for a bottle of what Irenic has been drinking for most of the night. It's not a bribe for more conversation, more like a gesture of goodwill and acceptance of his answer for what it was. It's not like he needed to sit here and explain any of this to her. "Alright then, I wasn't some rebound girl." Red lips are pressed together in thought, as if she were trying to pick and choose her words. The thing is, Meri's life was complicated and it was hard to decide who to let close or who not to. If only she was really just a simple tattoo artist, eh? "I am sorry about your broken heart. Perhaps it was not meant to be, if your eye could caught by another. It just may have been caught by the wrong sort of woman." Wrong because she is not quick to commit but also because she leads a questionable lifestyle."Not that I mind your company." A flash of a grin. "But if it is a curse of love, do you really think you should be so quick to write off those you do love?" No further attempt to pawn him off on the dancers in want, I mean he definitely beat out their options for clients tonight in terms of appearance.
Irenic is not quick at all to commit, either, and he doesn’t even see how that witch snuck in to be honest. Meri and him seem quite alike in the ways of relationships, guarded, but hey, we have needs! He shrugs at her apology which may indicate that he knows that this shouldn’t even have transpired. Little does Irenic know that this writer has larger plans for him. Of course Irenic knows he’s a bit on the handsome side of the visitors being nearly seven foot and not a bad looking face, even dressing a bit dapper to show he gives effort, but he.is.in.the.middle.of.a.conversation here. Another eye roll given as he slips a dancer some coin and motions her away once more. He asks Meri seriously, “Meri. Qu'est-ce qu'un rebond?” And that familiar twist of her name said upon Veretian accent ebbs in the flow between them.
Meri shakes her head as she witnesses Irenic basically just giving away his coin. Seriously? Yes, that is what the dancer ultimately wanted but maybe if he was more careful he would have coin at other times! The times that Meri does not end up stuck with the bill, for example. Admittedly, she is still a little sore on that one. That familiar twist of her name is recognized and it does elicit a smirk. "Ah, now you are just being coy, Irenic." She tsk's him a couple of times, feet starting to carry her away from her present position and ultimately toward the door. Never mind why she came here originally, she could come back later. "I do not for a second believe that you need me to explain that you. I do think, though, that you should chase down that dancer that you just tipped and see how friendly she is feeling. Because me? I'm heading out that door. Girl's gotta go places, no?"
Irenic is left again to watch as she goes with that devious smirk and a wave of his hand “Bonne nuit belle femme.” He won’t move from the bar until she leaves for a while and once his whisky was gone he’d stoop to ultimately letting the women fawn over him for the night