Opening Night (Open)

((OOC: The grand opening of Terminus has been big news in Nachton for weeks. The complex is huge and puts a new spin on night clubs and gaming establishments. The owners have spared no expense in advertisement and entertainment. Come join us. Enjoy the show! ))

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Opening night had finally arrived. They were doing their best to make it an event to remember. They had a big pre-show that began around mid day for the crowd that had begun to form before the doors opened. Around dusk several live bands began to play for the much larger audience as the sun set and the doors opened.

Then Evan began his magic show. Normally he was not fond of big stage acts. He preferred more up close and personal illusions but you just couldn't beat big and flashy for keeping the attention of the crowd.

He appeared on stage in a puff of smoke. That was the mandatory magician's entrance wasn't it? He was dressed all in white: jeans, boots, shirt and trench coat. The coat and shirt had a thin line bright blue PVC piping to add a futuristic flair. Evan had his hair loose and with a few white owl feathers braided into one side. A white band of face paint ran in a horizontal strip across his nose and eyes.

His performance began with taking one of the white feathers from his hair and transforming it into a small owl that flew from his grasp. Evan then produced a little replica contraption of an early flying machine. It rose from his hands and out over the stage before disappearing. Next a full scale version of of an old Vega prop plane was rolled onto the stage. He made it vanish and reappear with a woman dressed in an early aviation outfit at the helm.

Further illusions included more modern planes leading to space shuttles and eventually to a futuristic space craft.

Evan disappeared in a beam of light to be replaced by Kiyoshi.

Kiyoshi felt like this performance would be significant; while he had been out and about all day doing smaller 'sneak preview' shows amongst the crowds this was the main event, the real thing. He didn't want to screw it up.

He had worn his uniform all day so that he would be easily recognizable in the white and neon blue of his area of Terminus, rather than try to wear a flashier outfit. He had picked out more than one style of uniform and while they were all white with blue piping, they were in different styles. Tonight he had deviated from his normal banyans and gone with a look that was a little less 'straight off the island' and slightly more modern. His chest was bare, his hair bound back in a long braid to keep it away from the very real, very incendiary poi flames. His pants were hung low on his narrow hips, cargo pants in style but seemingly made of strips of white fabric going in different directions. The pattern was subtle, but the fact that the swatches of white were sewn in the neon blue of the rest of his uniform made it stand out. Kiyo had considered wearing a shirt, but he was afraid the white fabric would stand out too much in the darkness and detract from the spinning blue poi. Instead his shirt was folded up under the bar.

Kiyo was a little uncertain how to live up to Evan's magic act. He'd never seen illusions like those the vampire presented, and he certainly could not make planes vanish. How was he supposed to compliment that? He did love the fact that he got to appear as Evan disappeared in that beam of light. His poi were already lit with blue flames and as the light died down he set them in motion without a word. His music was a cross between tribal and techno, easy to move to, and his hope was to get the crowd moving, dancing, and, of course, drinking.

The fast paced beat lent itself well to a combination of 3, 5, and 7 beat weaves, which were what Kiyo began with. He had about three and a half minutes to set the crowd in motion, so he didn't waste much time warming them up, really. He jumped right into an energetic performance, mixing weaves with wraps and stalls that made the flames of his poi seem to fly wildly around in the air and then stop suddenly or move as in slow motion before bursting into spins and twists again.

Kiyo's own movements were a unique mix of tribal and martial. While normally he tended to remain subtle behind his poi, moving himself into position with efficient use of energy, tonight he spun, leaped, and jumped all the while using his body as an obstacle for his poi to wrap around and bounce off of. He had to be very careful of his hair, but he had been doing this for quite some time.

As he headed into the last minute of his performance, watching the faces around him, the people who did seem to enjoy it and were, indeed, dancing, Kiyo hooked both poi into one hand and spun them while he knelt and retrieved two more from the back of the stage. In a move that replicated the same slow-motion stall he swung the two new poi up with the others and gently kissed them all together at the top of their arc. The two new poi burst into blue flames as well and Kiyo set them in motion, twirling all four fire poi to the beat of the music as he danced with the crowd.

Normally he went off into his own little place while spinning but tonight he couldn't afford to. he was supposed to be performing, so he did, engaging the audience, men and women alike, smiling a brilliant smile that felt like someone else's because he didn't normally use it. Times like these, though, he could be who he wished he was, and he had always wished he were vibrant and outgoing. He ended his act wearing a grin, kneeling on the stage, swinging his four poi in a flat plane over his chest and face as he bent backwards to the floor. As the lights went out and the music ended Kiyo extinguished his poi with the cloth that had hidden the third and fourth and let the festivities continue as he quietly left the stage to take his place behind the bar.


((ooc: Music is by Plejik... Watch here to get an idea of Kiyo's performance.))

((Also /ooc, we swear Kiyo picked out his outfit before seeing that video but I'll be damned if he isn't basically wearing the same thing in white, with blue. Huh.))

Guillaume did not preform, not other than maybe the drums or his flute around the fire. He was more than happy to leave the flash and flair to Evan and Kiyo. He'd worked on the publicity and helped line up the opening acts that was as close to on stage as he got.

With a little bit of goading and grumbling he'd been talked into at least wearing white with a little blue as an accent. Navid had muttered something about Captain Picard but once he had that out of his system he'd settled in behind the bar. Ordinarily Kiyo or Evan would handle the bar but as they were both preforming he'd had the honor.

Between pouring drinks he'd caught glimpses of both shows and had been suitably impressed with them. Perhaps Kiyo especially. The quiet were had really turned it on and could be quite the showman when he wanted to, or needed too.

It didn't surprise him at all that Kiyo would immediately take up his position behind the bar.

"Good show. I'll just finish up the orders I have and get out of your hair." She grinned to himself before adding, "all of your hair."

He would never be able to manage his hair that long, but both his packmate and his mulo friend seemed to manage. They were busy enough that Guillaume couldn't keep up with that line of thought, he had orders to finish. When they were done he slid out from behind the bar and wandered out to the fool to circulate and make sure there were no opening night issues.

Miya bounced happily as they headed towards the front door. She stayed close to Scott as they went inside and just stood there, wowing at the splendor of the place. She looked up at Scott and grinned, "What should you like to do first, Sir?" She found it curious that she asked his opinion more now. She knew that she wanted to dance. Did Scott wish to? She honestly wasn't sure and looked up at him, struck again by how very much she loved this man that completed her life.

Scott seemed mesmerized by the music, the light, the noise, the people... there seemed to be a hundred things going on at once and it took him a few moments to register it all and take it all in.

The place was lavish and extremely well-appointed. It was huge - much larger than he had expected, and he assumed the owner or owners were loaded with cash. The place was smartly laid-out and it seemed to have everything one could want in an entertainment mecca. The owners should be proud at how impressive the establishment turned-out.

He quickly reigned-in his senses: so many people with so many emotions could be overwhelming to an empath, but he had learned long ago how to protect himself from the ocean of emotion. He quickly created a mental 'buffer' that kept his senses from being overwhelmed.

But the lady next to him, his Miya - she stood close enough to him, that he could sense her excitement and curiosity both as if they were thick waves of velvet brushing slowly against his skin. He smiled. He liked to see her happy and positive.

"May I have this dance?" he asked - and he had to ask again when she gave him a puzzled look. She smiled and nodded, and he let her lead them over to a spot on the dance floor where they could both sink in to the beat of the music and the crowd around them, just another pair of dancers worshiping the beat and cadence of the music filling the area.

Scott wasn't a professional dancer by any means, but he knew how to 'cut a little rug' and could do it well. He wasn't completely 'up' on contemporary dance, though, so he watched the guys around him and incorporated a lot of what he saw them doing into what he was doing now. Miya didn't seem to mind.

JT walked into the bar with a very exuberant Red walking next to him. Standing with a slight slouch, JT ignored his best friend busting a groove as they casually walked into the crowded new bar. Glancing at the comical Piper, JT rolled his eyes as Red began to do the 'cabbage patch' next to him.

"My god, why do I even appear in public with you?"

Red turned to JT and did a rather robust 'running man' move. "Jealous!" he sang loudly.

"So Terminus, huh? Wonder what kind of place this is supposed to be."

JT had noticed that some of the establishments in town seemed to cater to particular species. At least, from what he had heard from Vivienne, the vampires had their haunts and their kind had theirs. The Pipers had been warned to stay away from "House of Pain", but really, with a name like that, he couldn't imagine himself going anyway.

Club Eternity was, as Red put it, too high falootin' for them.

Shades on the strip appeared neutral, as well as Babylon. JT assumed, and hoped, that Terminus was as well, but for the moment he ignored Red and moved toward one of the illustrious looking bars and ordered a coke.

"DDing?" Red asked hopefully.

Leaning on the bar counter, JT narrowed his eyes at Red and shook his head. He always DD'd for the Pipers - he didn't drink, not even socially. Tugging at his long sleeve button up, JT settled down on the bar stool and rubbed his hands on his jeans.

"Yes, dear," JT replied looking around the club.

Red felt the blanket of his depression lift momentarily as they entered Terminus. It had been an odd couple of weeks, what with Cam and events with the Pipers, but he tried to put those feelings aside and enjoy the evening as much as he appeared to be.

Leaning onto the bar with both elbows, Red hollered at the bartender. "All the girly cherry cokes my friend here can consume and can I start a bar tab for all ye ale, my good tender of bars?!"

There were two men behind the bar, both wearing the apparently uniform colors of Terminus - white with blue accents. He looked around at what everyone was wearing and then down at his Oreo t-shirt and carpenter jeans.

"Why do I always feel so under dressed in these places?"

"Because you are?" JT offered.

"Oh right, I am." Grinning, he dusted off a piece of errant flint on his fashionably worn white shirt with black rings on the sleeve. "My jeans are clean, at least."

Red watched as JT settled into a chair and began looking around the room. They all did the same thing instinctively; it's what Red had done coming in and dancing ridiculously. No one noticed him checking for exits if he was looking like an idiot, which was the best cover ever, he thought to himself.

JT had incorporated himself into the Pipers with only a little encouraging. Red was glad to have someone to talk with, what with Charlie in DI, and could easily say that JT was one of his best friends now, despite being so painfully quiet at times. Even more so than Marko. The new Piper rarely spoke first, never gave his opinion on anyone (and the other Pipers gossiped like girls, good lord), and was already establishing himself as a formidable Piper. Red wondered if it had anything to do with his biological father's heritage when he brought his attention back to the bartenders.

Miya was ecstatic as Scott pulled her out onto the dance floor. She loved to dance. Dancing was in many ways a tease - and definitely as intimate as sex. The music was loud, the beat was fantastic and the press of people pressed her closer to him. The songs changed, keeping up a theme for 2 or three songs then changing to another one. Just as she was beginning to become breathless the mood changed again to a slower romantic song, and she twined her arms about her love and pressed herself against him, letting him lead, rocking against him, barely moving her feet. She enjoyed this slow, slow dance. And soon enough it was over, and she leaned up against him to kiss him deeply, even daring to nip his lower lip as she rocked back on her feet, her left hand entwined with his.

"Could we get a drink?" What Miya was really asking was could SHE have a drink. Scott knew her well enough to know that even one drink would make her giddy - her alcohol tolerance was just too too low. And she had to be taken care of after more than one drink. She was so happy at the moment and nodded at the two men at the bar. They were kinda buff and definitely cute. She then glanced up at Scott, hopefully.

Kiyoshi smiled at Guillaume as he retrieved his sleeveless shirt from beneath the bar and tugged it over his head. "No worries. I can pick them up if you have other things to do."

Guillaume tended bar, Kiyoshi thought, like a demolishing crew. Where was the other bartender on duty? Oh well... it was Kiyo's job to make bar tending flashy, not Guillaume's. He did so with no delay, as the line of patrons wanting drinks was not short.

Contrary to his private nature, he flashed a smile to the people waiting, and with no fanfare began to spin bottles and glasses, assembling 3 and 4 drinks at a time as the orders came in.

He grinned at the redhead and nodded. "One tab. No problem."

Then he noted the tall dark-haired man with the redhead. Don't stare, he reminded himself. Damn, he was cute. "And a cherry coke... sure."

He worked the coke into his current drink lineup, tossing the cherry into the air and spearing it on a plastic sword as it came down, then sending the drink down the bar into the man's waiting hands along with his pal's. "Drew the short straw tonight huh?"

It was his job to make small talk, and Kiyo could do it when he was here behind the bar. This was just a role he played for the night. Later when the bar closed in the early hours of the morning, he would shut his mouth and revert to blessed silence but he'd promised Evan and Guillaume he would be the best flairtender he could be... jobs that understood his monthly issues were rare.

In the meantime Kiyo juggled bottles and glasses with ease, enjoying the rapid drink orders that came his way, growing more and more complex as patrons realized what he was doing. More than a few of them tried to stump him with odd requests, but Kiyo wasn't in this business for nothing... he knew what he was doing.

JT watched as the bartender put on a show behind the bar and gave him his cherry coke. With a polite nod and small grin, he shook his head at the bartender's question.

"No straws, I'm just his alcoholic enabler."

Drinking his coke, he looked over at Red and noticed his friend's dirty look.

"Oh now you're chatty?" Red asked as he reached for his beer. "Gimme that!" Red grabbed the speared cherry and ate it with great malice.

JT shrugged silently. This was as friendly as he got with strangers, but it was not beneath him to be polite. Leaning closer to the bartender, he inquired about the new place.

"So what is this place? A club with magic shows? Vegas style?"

He caught Red looking back toward the crowd at a couple approaching the bar. JT flicked his eyes in that direction and noted the brown skin female. Looking at the male with her, he immediately dismissed them and looked back at the bartender.

Scott followed Miya to the bar, and also nodded in friendly greeting to the two gents already there.

He leaned down to talk loud enough for Miya to hear. "Drink whatever you want. I still don't drink much, myself - especially if I am driving." He had to repeat part of it so that she could hear it over the music.

He glanced around, feeling under-dressed himself. Noting one of the men at the bar in an Oreo t-shirt and carpenter's pants actually made him feel a bit more at ease in his dark jeans and Starman t-shirt. Scott almost wanted to thank the guy for making him feel a little less out of place.

At Miya's turn with the bar-keep, she ordered her drink, and Scott ordered himself a diet-something. He paid the tender in cash with a generous tip and turned to Miya, taking a sip of his own drink.

"What next?" he half-shouted to her, so she could hear him.

He was some what relived to let Kiyo take the lead and pour most or the orders. Guillaume had very little style, he got the job done and quickly it just wasn't amazing. But as the orders kept coming he kept working on them.

Part of Navid's problem was he had a habit of watching every one, trying to keep track of things. For instance the two guys who just sat down, in another situation it would pay to be aware of them. He half smiled at the cherry coke order though. Although, he appreciated that they had a DD. He -hated- drunk drivers.

"Opening night." Guillaume said simply as he slid an order over to another patron. "We thought it might pay to open with a flash there is a lot of competition in town."

The more enthusiastic of the two, the red head had more or less asked for a beer but he hadn't picked one. They had a lot on tap, several local micro brews some of the more standard American beers (which he couldn’t stand) and some good imports. And since Guillaume figured pouring a beer was beneath Kiyo's talents he asked,

"Ale, stout, porter, hefewizen it all goes on the same tab. What can I get you?"

Red chewed on the cherry from JT's coke as a couple came up to the bar next to them. Sidling over to JT, he gave them room and raised his eyebrows at his buddy.

'Interracial' he whispered with an exaggerated, wide eyed look.

JT snorted into his coke and covered his chuckle with a fake cough. He knew Red was joking - look at Vivienne and the Commander - but Red had knack for being an ass in very opportune times. Both he and JT nodded politely back at the male and waited for the other Pipers to show up.

"Oh, uh," Red leaned onto the counter, holding his hands up dramatically as he answered the bartender's question. "I would like...something horribly offensive, like a blond golden ale, preferably with a subtle aftertaste for my potential, and hopefully gigantic alcohol binge."

JT covered his eyes and sighed.

"I have to be respectable if and when I make my appearance at Nachton's Finest drunk tank, you see."

He is known simply as the Unkulunkulu's 'Second'. The honor was incomprehensible and unfortunately a short lived title. There had been many Seconds, the turnover within the Nakubili being higher than the Unkulunkulu would ever admit, but this one had been Second for many years and he planned to keep it that way.

Their numbers had been reduced drastically, but there was always more coming from the Unkulunkulu's seemingly unlimited supply to fill the ranks. Oringo Ramsey's name carried weight within their mercenary core and it surprised the Second to see how fast one would jump up to replace a fallen Nakubili. There were three of them with the Second that night as they entered club Terminus.

The Nakubili were normally of African decent, but it was not uncommon for other races to filter in. Tonight it was his three oldest: two brothers and a white. The only thing separating his lighter skin brother was his skin color and even that was ignored, as well as gender. No females with them tonight, but they were out to try and enjoy themselves since the Unkulunkulu was out and about doing whatever it was he did on his own.

"Magic?" one of his Nakubili asked.

"Might be fun," said the other.

"Let's see," the Second replied.

Kiyoshi was easily able to banter and flairtend at once. He distributed several drinks to some of the other people waiting at the bar while Guillaume entered into the conversation. Letting him attend to the redhead Kiyo addressed the handsome dark-haired guy.

"Hmm," he said thoughtfully, "the Vegas bit is mostly for the opening, like Guillaume said. "Mostly it's a seriously upscale internet cafe, lounge, what have you."

Pausing between rounds of drink orders Kiyoshi pointed toward the hallway that led to the other concourses. "Down that hall you're going to find different areas, color-coordinated so you know exactly where you are and who your staff are."

He indicated his white and blue uniform, the colors of their current area and Kiyo's domain. He looked around for Evan, who was mingling with the crowd as the PR face of Terminus. He pointed him out, as he wasn't hard to spot. These guys were tall but so was Evan. "That's the man in charge," he said, his eyes resting on his friend for a moment before turning to nod at Guillaume. "This one, too."

"There's a video gaming concourse down that way," he continued, "then traditional gaming, and a dining concourse. You should check them out."

Then he shrugged and smiled. "Of course, you're in the best part now but I'm biased."

Listening as the bartender described the inner workings of the new club, JT followed the man's nod toward another taller male in the crowd who apparently shared manger duties with the other bartender next to him. With a polite nod, Red suddenly smacked him in the arm excitedly when the video gaming section was mentioned. JT snorted at Red's strange exuberance, but that was Red. He waited, knowing what was coming next.

"Listen," Red started in a hushed voice, "are there strippers here?"

"And here we go," JT said with an eye roll.

"Not for me, mind you, I have a girl, but he doesn't," Red said pointing at JT. Pushing his accusatory finger away, JT shook his head apologetically at the bartender and sighed.

"This does sound nice. We've been seeing the advertising around town - we're usually up at the Howl, but this is a nice change."

The bartender had extremely long, light brown hair, much like the other Manager in the crowd. JT damn near towered over him, even sitting, but at six foot six, he did get that a lot.

"I'm sorry. I'm JT, this idiot here is Red."

"Pleasure!" Red said with a wave.

Looking at the other bartender, JT added, "Very nice looking establishment and it looks like you're getting quite the variety of people."

"Need more women, if you ask me," Red contributed. JT flashed him a dirty look. "Just sayin', is all."

"I think that will clash with the cherry flavor."

He said but at the same time he smiled quietly appreciating the humor in the order. Well why not be obnoxious about your beer. People were doing it with everything these days and at least it wasn't just a Bud or a Coors or something equally generic.

Turning away he poured an Ipswich Summer Ale into a glass and set it in front of the red head.

"Strippers? I knew we forgot something."

But he was pleased that the advertising had been seen. Obviously it had or the place wouldn't be as busy as it was but it was nice someone would say something.

"I've see The Howl but not been in."

He'd been meaning to check it out, from what research he'd done they did a good business but in his scouring of bars and clubs in Nachton Navid hadn't been in just yet.

Nodding as introductions were made he preformed the other half.

"Guillaume, this is Kiyo and the other one is Evan. Welcome to Terminus."

Well Red apparently had a one track mind for all he professed to have a girl. He half laughed.

"It is a traditional problem with gamers... male to female ratio is less than idle. But I'll see what we can do about that."

That was actually something he'd not thought about, attracting single females. Something to think about.

Miya was happy. She had her Scott and she had a fruity rum girly drink with plastic sword spearing the fruit, and an umbrella. She was enchanted by the umbrella. She turned back to Scott when he asked her what next. She really wasn't sure. This place was huge, so very large, bigger than any club that she had been in before. She was a little surprised at the two large men who were joking around near her, and even more surprised that she could catch bits of their conversation. She had a devil of a time hearing Scott and he was right next to her. She looked up at him grinned and leaned up against him, almost shouting to be heard over the music, "Some place quiet? I'd like to rest a few minutes after the dancing if that is ok." She had heard that this place was a gamer's paradise. She wondered if they had DDR.

Miya -loved- DDR. And she knew that Scott wasn't terrible at it, either, but he always seemed to like to watch her. Miya could challenge whoever was the local king of it, after watching them and getting some rest and sipping her drink. Playfully she offered Scott one of the pineapples that had been soaking in the rum and fruit juice. It was speared on a plastic sword and she giggled at the absurdity of it.

Evan noticed a couple just leaving the bar and could hear the 'what now' question asked. He made his way over and smiled first to the gentleman, hopefully letting him know that he was just being polite and not looking to compete for his girlfriend's affections, and then gave another smile to the woman herself.

" A pretty girl like you with a tropical drink like that needs a flower or two to let everyone know she's special"

Waving empty fingers at them, he then held out his hand to her and displayed a small clip with a couple of silk Hawaiian flowers, one yellow and one pink. Evan had re-purposed the bright flowers from a lei that had come apart; he added a few small blue beads and a couple tiny sea shells to finish off the beach themed accessory. It would look lovely in her auburn hair and he hoped that she would like it. It always made him happy to see his little trinkets find a good home.

He glanced over at the bar and noticed that Guillaume had received aid in the form of Kiyoshi. However, their bartender's flair filled bartending style was creating quite a bit of attention and that was adding to the number of orders. He should probably make his way back to the bar and swap places with Guillaume. His partner could serve a drink or two but he was going to have to leave the complicated orders up to Kiyo. It would help to have another experienced bartender on hand. The Frenchman could be sociable just as well as he could, perhaps more so with that accent that the women all found so delightfully seductive.

Returning his attention to the couple that he was standing near, Evan smiled. "Are you looking to play some of the games or would you like something to eat? We have electronic games and more traditional ones, like pool or darts and the final concourse" He pointed down the main hallway that led out of the dancing area. "is a nice quiet restaurant with a place to sit down and eat."

((OOC: The clip is a couple of hibiscus flowers in the middle with some tiny beads and shells on the end. They are glued to a metal clip that pinches open and closed at one end so that it could be slid into a person's hair or onto a shirt or something. It is only perhaps two and half inches long. ))

Miya looked up at Scott for permission to take it, her eyes full of happy excitement as he nodded and took it, pinning it into her hair. She waited for him to answer however - while Scott might say that this is her night, she wanted him to decide. She was happy just being near him. Besides, she had gotten to dance and that made for a very happy Miya. And she had her favorite drink in her hand. She moved closer to Scott, finding herself a little intimidated by how handsome the gentleman was. Boldly she asked, breaking protocol, "Do you work here? Thank you for the hair ornament, it is lovely."

Scott nodded a friendly greeting to the dark-skinned man who approached them, and watched with interest as he made the flowers appear - and turned it into a lovely corsage of sorts.

He smiled widely seeing Miya's reaction. "Nicely done!" Scott said, loud enough to be heard above the music, nodding his thanks to the man. "Thank you!" he cried out to him.

"Hear that Miya? I'm not the only one who thinks you're pretty AND special. Proof!" he chuckled, nodding again to the stranger.

In response to the man's questions, Scott shot a glance at Miya, then back to their visitor. "She's really into a dance-game called DDR. I've been practicing and was hoping you had one here so I could show her how it's done! Do you have one of those around?" he asked, loud enough to be heard above the music.

Kiyoshi didn't miss a beat when the redhead asked about strippers. "No strippers," he said as he flipped a bottle behind his back and poured it over his shoulder into one of the blue-lit martini glasses Evan had ordered. Then he cast a somewhat critical eye on the taller dark-haired man. "I don't think he'll have any trouble attracting a girl if he wants one, though."

The guy was perfectly good to look at, Kiyo speculated casually. He did peer around the dance floor at the assertion that there needed to be more women around. "Seems like there are plenty to me. How many, exactly, were you looking for?"

He cocked an eyebrow at Guillaume. "But there's the catch," he said. "If you're a gamer yourself, wouldn't you want a woman who's interested in gaming, too? So while the ratio might not be perfect, at least here you know you've already got a mutual interest. Mostly."

He qualified his statement because while it was largely a gamer's paradise, Terminus was still a new bar, fresh, on-trend, and exciting whether you wanted to game or not. He grinned at JT and Red when the casual introductions were made. "Nice to meet you both."

Guillaume had introduced him with his nickname but Kiyo didn't correct his boss in front of patrons... and as hardly likely to correct him at all. Very few people called him anything but Kiyoshi. He was somewhat particular on that point but again... it wasn't something he would ever press, really.

Kiyo continued mixing drinks, not really getting tired at all. He could flairtend for hours. He enjoyed it, and it took a while before he became fatigued enough to risk dropping glasses. He wasn't anywhere near that point. When he was, he'd take a break and bartend like a normal human being.

In the meantime he scanned the crowd for Evan. It wasn't hard to find him; in his bright clothing and even amongst guys who were easily as tall as him, the vampire stood out. Kiyoshi watched as his boss produced a flowered ornament for a pretty, dark-skinned girl and presented it to her with a smile. Evan was good at promoting his new place, and he looked like he was in his element, socializing and having a good time.

Evan looked down at the white clothing with blue piping and then back into the girl's pretty blue eyes. Leaning down closer so she could hear him, he looked around both left and right before speaking in a conspiratorial manner.

"Nope, I just thought I would wear these clothes to confuse the staff. Its working really well so far!" He gave her a bright smile then to say he was joking. "Truthfully though. I don't work here. I own it." As much as one could own land. This was his. "Me and the tall fellow at the bar." He was amused to call Guillaume tall but he knew that they were both considered giants by most people.

Straightening he looked over at the man with the woman. "Yes, she's one to hang on to." Unless the man wanted a cheaper bar tab. All he would need to do was let her stand still by herself for fifteen minutes and someone will have bought her another drink. Of course that might just be the hunter in him talking...or the bartender; he wasn't sure which.

"There is DDR in the video gaming concourse down toward the end with the other games on the wii and xBox that involve more movement than the usual gamer is used to." Evan mimed holding a controller in his hands and pressing the buttons with his thumbs to illustrate the range of motion a typical gamer experienced while playing. "There is a little blond in there." He brought a hand up to about five feet. "her hair is short, with a pink strip in the front. She loves DDR and can show you where to find it and help you set up a station if one does not already have the mats out."

((OOC: While Evan would love to hang out and embarrass himself playing a game of DDR with you guys, he can't really do it on opening night. :sad2 Feel free to play run into Becky and move her around as you need. She's friendly and cheerful. Looks like a cheerleader because she used to be one but secretly is also a wicked mean opponent in first person shooters. Happy Dancing! Feel free to come back by the bar! ))

Miya squealed in delight as she heard that there was DDR. She clung onto Scott's arm as they were given directions towards the appropriate area. She bounced happily and looked up at him, grinning brightly towards her love and Master. She wondered if he wished to say anything else. Then she teased him a little bit. "Mhmmm...Bet I can beat you." But honestly, she really didn't want to beat him. She just wanted the experience of being with him doing it. Back in DC she'd been so competitive with him. But now, her teasing seemed hollow, even to herself.

Evan had wandered away, doing the things that owners and staff did. "Wow. I didn't realize it was -opening- night!" She gasped loud enough that Scott could hear. "And the -owner- came over to say hello!" She was growing a bit more inebriated as the volume in her glass grew lower and lower. "Wow! Why..." She just couldn't understand that he had done it because she was pretty. The concept just didn't seem to compute.

Normally she would tug his arm and drag him towards the area for DDR. Instead she stood at his side, letting him decide.

Lewis shoved his hands into his pockets and let Dom and Marko push him into Terminus. He had gone out plenty of times with the other Pipers, but that evening he had hemmed and hawed while trying to decide if he wanted to go because of the parallel traces he was running on the Piper's CPU and his own located in his buried lair. He had started referring to it as his 'lair' only to himself, but it made him anxious to think Dougie was left at the helm. Plus he was a nerd and he wanted his computers.

"You need to get a little more sun, Lew. Your complexion has taken on a none too subtle green glow."

"Aw come on, it has not," Lewis mumbled unhappily to Domingo.

Marko placed his large hand on Lewis' shoulder and chuckled with that low baritone that he could feel deep down in his chest. "It'll be fun. The Sarge and JT should be here already."

Lewis frowned at Marko's casual reference to Red as 'The Sarge". Charlie was the Sarge and had been for years. Ignoring it, Lewis let the two other Pipers drag him into the club.

"This is suppose to be some sort of techno bar...thing...isn't it?" Already Lewis was bracing himself to see the shoddy computer hook ups and sweat stained nerds...his brethren, as it were.

Together the three Pipers instinctively took in the features of the club, noting the exits, bouncers, and readying a 'Plan B' should they need one. They were there to have fun, but habits died hard.

Dom reached out and pointed toward the bar and moved the three of them toward Red and JT.

"Seems like there are plenty to me. How many, exactly, were you looking for?" A short, brown skinned man behind the counter, tossing drinks efficiently, asked the two seated Pipers.

"We need at least four - the red head has his own already," Dom said slapping Red on his back. With a round of laughter, the other Pipers leaned onto the counter and began saying their hellos and ordering their drinks.

Lewis hung back and sat down next to JT, on the fray of the group. Looking at his phone, he checked the status of his computers, holding back on ordering a drink for himself.

The three other Pipers joined the counter and immediately integrated themselves into the conversation with Kiyo and the other manager. The noise level was kicked up several notches just by their presence, but Lewis sat down next to JT, as quiet as a church mouse, fussing with his phone already. Reaching out, JT took Lewis' phone from him and tucked it into the inside breast pocket of Lewis' jacket.

"Come on, Matt," JT said using the Pipers given name, "try and enjoy yourself."

"Right, because you are. DD'ing again?"

JT half rolled his eyes and grinned. "Touche'." JT looked at Lewis and wondered just how the hell someone who looked like him - tall, blond, built, and so un-nerdlike in physique and stamina - could not have a girlfriend. "I've been having sex though. When's the last time you did?"

Lewis looked up at the ceiling and closed one eye.

"See, if you have to think about it, it's been a while, Matt. You drinking?" Lewis gave JT a halfhearted shrug.

"Uh, can I get a lime Margarita?" Lewis asked the bartender who had been talking to JT. The entire section of their counter silenced as the Pipers looked at Lewis. Even JT had to double take at his order.

"You're a guy...right?" Red asked, leaning back away from the counter to see Lewis past JT.

With a snort, JT leaned closer to Kiyo and ordered for Lewis. "One Irish Car Bomb, Kiyo."

"I'm going to throw up someone," Lewis said with a sad sigh.

"Just let it be a girl, dude. Really. You're killing even me here," JT said, slapping Lewis' shoulder.

He chuckled dryly as he listened to the bartender. It was impressive how lively Kiyo could become while doing what he loved. Navid approved. If he hadn't felt good about hiring his packmate before, he would now. He wanted to bar to have more than flair, he wanted it to have personality too and was satisfied with what he saw.

And then there were more. Guillaume half watched them with interested. These men put him in mind of his time in the Legion. Perhaps they were all local cops. Oddly enough he wouldn't mind if off duty cops decided to frequent Terminus, it would likely limit trouble makers. If it hadn't been opening night and so crowded he'd probably have given them a round on the house, but he'd not alienate his other patrons that way tonight.

"All one tab?"

He asked before turning to pour another beer for someone else who'd come up to the bar. He really wasn't the best at customer relations was he? Too quiet, too reserved, well the had Kiyo and Evan for the majority of bar tending work. He was just emergency, emergency back up.

Kiyo looked up (and up) as more enormous guys joined JT and Red. What the heck were they drinking in Nachton?

That question was answered as the one called Lewis ordered a lime margarita, resulting in a few moments of stunned silence from his friends. Kiyo couldn't really blame them... it was a surprisingly girly drink. In fact, he did a sort of double take as well.

JT suggested an Irish Car Bomb and Kiyo cocked an eyebrow at Lewis; it was his drink, after all. Apparently peer pressure worked and Lewis indicated he'd go with JT's suggestion. Kiyo easily worked it into his rotation of drinks, smiling a little as he presented it to the big blond.

"There you go. Don't throw up on my bar," he suggested helpfully, with a little grin.

In the meantime another woman had shown up and indicated she wanted to order a drink. She wasn't far away from the cluster of guys at the bar. Kiyoshi noted she seemed attractive enough and was clearly alone for the moment. He raised an eyebrow at JT and then Lewis.

"I wouldn't suggest you aim that way either," he offered, shaking his head. "I don't really think you'll get the result you want."

He moved toward the woman and smiled at her. "What can I get you?"

Red leaned on the counter and shook his head at Lewis. "I swear to god, Lewis. I'm going to roofie you and send you off with a bachelorette party." Looking at Guil, Red nodded. "Yeah, one tab please."

He watched as Lewis took his car bomb from Kiyo and made a face.

"Drink it...." The Pipers began chanting Lewis' name. "All of it, come on. Peer pressure! Peer pressure!"

Lewis took the ill suited (and he wagered ill fated) Guinness, Irish bailey, and whiskey drink and pound it down. Red raised his eyebrows, not really thinking Lewis was going to do it.

"Oh he's going to throw up," JT said laughing.

"Wow, I didn't think you were going to do it, Lew. That's disgusting!"

Lewis grimaced and then put his head down on the counter as he let out a sizable burp.

"Oh I can smell that from here!"

"I wouldn't suggest you aim that way either," Kiyo said looking down the bar. "I don't really think you'll get the result you want."

Red swung his head, following Kiyo's gaze and saw a familiar face. Narrowing his eyes, he looked back at JT who saw the woman in question. They both shrugged at each and looked at Lewis.

"Listen, I'm not that far out of the game. I know throwing up on a girl is a bad thing," Lewis said with an annoyed yet increasingly bleary eyed look.

Lewis looked down the bar, one eye already closing from the hearty kick of his drink. The woman in question was not only a familiar face, but a pack member.

"Oh I am definitely not throwing up on Miss Reign."

The Pipers turned to Reign and greeted her warmly. Marko, Dom, Lewis, JT, and Red all politely smiled at her, welcoming her to their section of the bar.

"I don't think she'd appreciate it, no," JT said under his breath with a chuckle.

When they started chanting it was hard –not- to notice the group of guys, in fact she was surprised she hadn’t noticed them as she’d approached the bar. She’d blame that on being distracted by apparently being stood up. Reign grinned to herself as she recognized them and half watched them torture poor Lewis with an Irish Car bomb. God she hadn’t done one of those in years, and it wasn’t hard to remember why.

Coughing to cover a laugh at the burp and its reaction she smiled at the slighter of the two bar tenders. She didn’t want a beer and scotch on the rocks wasn’t right for the ambiance she decided.

“Could I get a rusty nail please?"

She was a little was a little surprised to have been noticed by The Pipers, but not displeased and returned friendly hellos with every one. With a wide grin and a shake of the head she added,

“Thank you for not throwing up on me. Been there done that. Threw away the t-shirt."

It was not an experience she was in a hurry to repeat regardless of who was doing the retching.

Red shared another look at JT who nodded his head, completely able to read his horrifically inappropriate mind.

"Put her drink on our tab, Kiyo?" Turning back to Reign, Red beckoned her to join them. "Would you like to join us, Miss Reign? We don't mind another." The Pipers hoorahed and encouraged Reign, more than likely putting her off than anything.

"Unless you're waiting on friends?" JT added, nodding to Guill for another car bomb for Lewis.

Red watched as Lewis seemed to sway on his feet, already feeling the affects of his poor choices, and closed one eye.

"Thanks."

Saved her from starting a tab pulling a bill out. She had only planed on having one drink, just long enough to give people time to show or to find her. But that was looking less and less likely. She'd call people tomorrow and find out what the heck happened.

Having grown up with three brothers and having had her best friends for years be six guys The Pipers volume didn't bother her at all. It sort of made her feel at home.

"I was waiting on friends but we've obviously gotten something messed up so I'd love to."

She was glad not to have ordered a beer. Not that she minded being one of the guys but once in a while a little bit of cover didn't hurt. At least she hadn't ordered something with an umbrella in it. That would have been embarrassing.

"You guys just out blowing off steam tonight then?"

It seemed likely enough and she addressed the question to the group as a whole rather than any one person.

Kiyo shrugged inwardly when the blond turned and happened to apparently know the group of guys. They all seemed like they were on friendly terms. Enhanced werewolf senses were a good help when it came to trying to figure out the undercurrents of the mood. He didn't get a "omg it's him/her" vibe from anyone. Kiyo nodded at the request to add the woman to the tab and spun her up the requested drink while Guillaume built a car bomb.

Inwardly, Kiyo wondered when Evan would return and swap places with Guillaume. It wasn't that he had anything against Guillaume but Evan was faster behind the bar. Kiyo was all right with the business; there were two more bartenders down on the other end of the bar as well. But he liked Evan a lot and thought it would be fun if he joined them.

"There you go," Kiyoshi said, presenting Reign's drink to her with a flourish. He then stepped away a little bit to make a few more drinks for those who stood outside the group of large men and the one smaller blond woman.

"Yes, ma'am," they all replied in chorus. JT made a face at their response. When together, they always seemed to answer together, as if they were a single entity. The Pipers did it more so than the squad he was with back in the Air Force. If one hurt, they all hurt. Speaking of hurting.

Looking at Lewis, JT considered his silent agreement to throw their IT Piper at Miss Reign, but now he was seriously reconsidering it. Lewis was pounding down his second car bomb, more than likely in an effort to fit in with the other Pipers, unknowingly setting himself up for one fuckton of a hurting in the morning. Bleary eyed and disheveled within five minutes, Lewis pushed the empty glass back and had the decency not to belch loudly this time.

"It's been a harrowing couple of months."

"Uh, that's one way to put it," Red mumbled.

"Hi, Miss Reign!" Lewis yelled loudly from next to JT, making him flinch. Lewis was starting to stand politely when his eyes quickly lost focus.

"How are you drunk already?" JT said pushing him back down on the bar stool.

"I'm not drunk," Lewis replied innocently. "Hi, Miss Reign!" he said again loudly.

'Wow', JT murmured to himself and looked at Red. "Our friend here has officially been cut off, Kiyo."

Lewis pushed past JT, shoving him out of his chair and taking it up to be closer to Reign. JT took a step back onto his feet and steadied Lewis as he tried to balance on the stool.

"Down boy, heel."

Miss Reign was pretty, Lewis thought to himself.

He had seen her around the Den and knew she was close personal friends with the Alpha, which - for the most part, made her off limits to the Pipers. Their reputation preceded them, but it wasn't as if Lewis ever maintained sexual conquests like the other Pipers. He was too involved in his UFO conspiracies and computers to chase skirts on the property. Miss Reign, however, was hanging out with them now, and after two car bombs, Lewis was feeling adventurous.

"Hi, Miss Reign!" he said, trying to get her attention. The other Pipers were crowding her, but this did not dissuade him. He shoved JT out of his chair and sidled up closer to her, again yelling a salutation, just in case she didn't hear it the first time.

"Our friend here has officially been cut off, Kiyo." JT put his hand on Lewis' shoulder, calming him down. JT always had a way with the Pipers. For a new guy, he commanded the level of respect any of them would give the LT, but JT could not be lower on the totem pole. Hell, he was lower than Lewis and Lewis was just IT.

"That's not nice. I'm still thirsty. Can I have a lime margarita now?"

"Did you want to throw up? That'll do it," JT said with a chuckle behind him.

"Oh no. No, that wouldn't be a good idea." Lewis made a face and then shrugged. Looking back up at Miss Reign, he did his best to look appealing and smiled at her. "Having fun, Miss Reign?"

Reign did her best not to laugh at the chorused answer. It was funny and sort of endearing. She’d not spent a lot of time with any of The Pipers not individually or as a group but in her experience they were easy guys to like.

She raised her eyebrows at that answer and wondered what was going on that would be harrowing. But she also knew enough about who and what the group was not to ask for details. Besides, if they were out to have fun it wouldn’t have been nice to talk about work, even if she was a little curious.

“Well then it’s good you’re out. All work and no play… not that I suspect you guys have that problem…"

No, good looking group of guys like The Pipers probably did not spend Saturday nights, or even Tuesday nights, alone doing nothing unless they wanted to.

She was a little startled when she was greeted a few more times by Lewis, who was apparently feeling that second car bomb. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask how much he’d had. Yeah it was easy enough to know you’d been drinking doing two of those and quickly but Reign was having trouble believing a guy of his size and shape could go down so easy.

It wasn’t like she’d never been hit on by a less than sober guy at a bar before, but usually it left Reign looking for a polite way to excuse herself as quickly as possible when out alone. This was a little different though, so while a little flustered seeing the other Pipers there and obviously keeping an eye on their friend she was mostly just amused.

“We agreed no throwing up, and I do like this shirt. How about a water with a lime instead?"

Hey she cared and didn’t wish a hang over on any one. He was also cute. Yeah drunk, but still cute and it wasn’t bad for her ego to have a guy even temporarily interested. Reign couldn’t help it, she smiled at him. He was trying, you could see that.

“Yeah, I am it is a neat place and they’ve put on a good show. You seem like you’re having a good time too."

She teased him just a little not sure that Lewis would even notice.

Lewis cleared his throat, trying to get the taste of the car bomb from burning the back of it. Reign was talking, but he was having a hard time focusing. What was in the drink, he wondered. And should he have drank them that quick?

"No idea you were a light weight, Matty," Dom laughed, watching Lewis try to focus his eyes on Miss Reign.

Getting up quickly to seize JT's seat had not been a good idea. He felt his thighs start to go numb and his eyes felt like they were floating in water all of the sudden. Pointing to his mouth, Lewis stuck out his tongue, trying to re-wet the sudden dryness.

"I have the weirdest taste in my mouth." Looking back at the bartender Kiyo, he closed one eye and tried to focus again. "Could I get...actually could I have...could I...?"

The Pipers hung on Lewis very long, very drawn out request. Each trying not to laugh.

"That is...would it be possible...do you...."

"Oh my god," Red giggled. "When was the last time you drank?"

Lewis held up a finger and put his request on temporary hold as he redirected his attention toward Red. "Last time? Wh...uh...Roswell, I think?"

"Roswell, New Mexico? That UFO convention you went to when we got here? That was three years ago," Marko replied.

"Uh, yeah. Hey, could I get," Lewis begun his arduous task of asking for another drink. "Could I just get a beer please?" he finally managed to ask.

Red looked at his watch. "That only took five minutes."

"You sure you don't want to wait a little bit, buddy," Marko asked in his innocently sweet way.

"No, I would like a beer, right now. And yes, Reign, I am having...a uh, a great time." Lewis reached out, (busted out of his shy demeanor it would appear as well), and gently laid his large hand on top of Reign's small one.


((OOC hope it was ok for Lewis to touch Reign's hand. Lemme know!))

Kiyo kept half an ear tuned out to the group of big guys and their lone female companion. He did hear the cut off request but Lewis himself was the one who requested a beer and it was Kiyo's job to provide. He wasn't a babysitter. He'd rarely ever had to actually cut anyone off and then it was only when their behavior became publicly unacceptable. Lewis was hardly at that point.

He didn't envy Lewis his hangover though.

The big blond had failed to specify what kind of beer he wanted so Kiyo scanned the tap quickly and came up with something that was barely a step up from water in his opinion and served him a Bud Light. There was a huge selection on tap but any of the finer brews would be wasted on Lewis, who was already, well, on his way to being wasted.

"Try not to chug it," he recommended softly as he handed it over. Glancing at Lewis's friends Kiyo shrugged helplessly. Bars that didn't serve drinks didn't stay in business. Lewis wasn't driving and he'd opted for more alcohol.

Kiyo thought that wasn't his brightest move, and he definitely doubted the blond's ability to win over a woman who, while probably not entirely sober after that Rusty Nail, was also probably not buzzed enough yet. Lewis was definitely a lightweight. Even Kiyo, who would have been scrawny had he not been a werewolf, could handle his alcohol better. Of course, he probably drank a lot more often than Lewis.

Reign was having a hard time not laughing at Lewis. It really was sort of funny and at the same time she felt sort of bad for him. Boy he was going to regret this later. And apparently he really was that much of a light weight.

"Roswell?"

She asked curiously, that she thought they could talk about. And it wasn't something she'd expected to hear either. Under pressure she might admit to watching a few 'documentaries' now and then about things like Area 51, but just for fun or when she couldn't sleep or if narrated by Lenard Nimoy. That man had a sexy voice. If nothing else, she knew the X-Files version of things.

She watched as he tried to order something, had to stop to answer Red and went back to ordering. At least she wasn't the only one trying not to laugh. None of the banter was malicious though, it was casual open, well like a family.

As she she had to drive herself home she was nursing the remains of her drink for all she was worth.

"Good. I'm glad to hear that."

Reign suspected that this might only be a fuzzy memory to Lewis tomorrow. She thought about asking him to dance but didn't want him to hurt himself, and with the other guys that could be awkward.

When the bar tendered offered the advices about not chugging it she pretended not to notice, but it was good advice.

Yup, he was trying. Reminding herself that he was not sober and not to set too much store in anything, but still finding it a little sweet she sort of compromised.

"You know I haven't checked out the games yet."

That wouldn't require too much moving around and wouldn't leave any one out and would get him away from the bar before he got in too much more trouble.

Kiyo handed Lewis the beer and he eyed it suspiciously for a moment before answering Reign. Looking back at her, he left his hand on top of hers as he slid off the bar stool, his other hand bracing himself for a fall.

"Uh oh," Red murmured.

Standing on his own two feet, Lewis felt the sway of alcohol in his stomach wanting to pull him to the ground in a heap, but he cleared his throat and blinked bleary eyed down at his feet. His legs were not betraying him, not yet anyway, and he gently pulled on Reign's hand.

"Cool, ok. Just checking to make sure my legs still worked. And they do!" Pointing at the Pipers with his free hand, he yelled out, "Stay. All of you. Staaaaay."

The other Pipers erupted in laughter and stayed put, watching him attempt to woo Reign.

"Where are you going there, hero?" JT asked as Lewis tugged on Reign's hand.

"Well, I am hoping to walk Miss Reign here over to some games. Then in, I don't know, about ten, twenty minutes, I might try and kiss her. You know, depends on what game we play first, I think."

JT rested an elbow on the counter and covered his eyes with his fingers. Lewis was so out of it he was having trouble with his inner monologue.

"Alright man. Good luck with that," JT said raising his coke to Lewis.

Red leaned in closer to JT and mumbled, "The sad thing is, this is the smoothest I've seen him with a girl. Usually he has no clue."

"See, I don't get that. Look at him." JT had noticed several women coming by, ordering their drinks but keeping an eye on their blond IT, and not once did Lewis even notice them. "He is, by far, the better looking of us all...."

"Hey hey. You're cutting me deep there, bro."

JT snorted. "Seriously, he is positively adorable." Grinning, he shrugged. "It's just bizarre to see a good looking guy be such a clueless nerd."

"That is his most endearing quality, I have to say." Red rolled his eyes and chuckled.

Oh crap, she thought as he wobbled. She was going to kill him. How did you explain that? Undoubtedly the Doc would take it well. She closed her eyes, cracking just the one to make sure he didn't fall flat on his face. Wow, he was worse than she'd thought.

OK it was a little embarrassing, but way worse for Lewis. It was nothing she couldn't roll with and she was actually having fun. And, Reign would prefer he flirt (for broad definitions of flirt) with her, it had to be better for every one to keep things in the family so to speak. Reign would hate to see some one take advantage of him.

"Maybe a rain check on the game big guy."

She laughed. Although she hoped his sense of humor stayed in tact when he thought this all though sober.

At least she wasn't so out of practice she was misreading signals, even ones as muddled at Lewis'. Still her eyebrows shot half way up her forehead as he announced his game plan. Now under normal circumstances she would probably be fine with that game plan but she'd done one drunken one night stand in her life and didn't plan on making a habit of it.

"It's the best offer I've had in a while, but you might have better luck with that if you were sober sunshine."

Reign smiled at him, she'd take a rain check on that too if he wanted or was actually serious about it.

Lewis blinked at Reign. "Oh no, if I were sober, there is no way I'd even try and talk to you. You're a girl!"

"God, I hope the security cameras have audio." Dom looked at at Kiyo, pleading. "Please sell me a copy of your security tapes. This is pure gold."

"Be nice, Dom. Lewis is a very shy person, is all." Marko gently shoved Dom's shoulder, which resulted in moving him a good two feet instead.

"They're not kidding. I'm horrible at women." Lewis blinked unhappily, his eyes still feeling watery. "Are you sure I can't try and kiss you in like," he checked his watch again, "fifteen, no ten minutes. Tops. I can do it in ten minutes."

Dom said in his best auctioneer voice, "Do I hear five minutes?"

"Annnnnnd he starts to negotiate," Red contributed to the peanut gallery.

"Aw, you guys are mean," Lewis grumbled. "Don't listen to them, Miss Reign." He paused, considering his situation. "Are you sure you don't want to go play a game? Oh no wait, nothing that requires any type of coordination though."

"That's everything, Matt," JT snorted. "That's kinda the whole point of playing games."

"Hand-eye coordination is overrated," Lewis pointed out matter-of-factly.

"Probably shouldn't tell her that, dude," Red suggested.

Lewis grimaced angrily, "Aw, go on."

Reign giggled at that observation.

"Thank you for noticing. But that shouldn't stop you from talking to me while sober I'm relatively harmless in the grand scheme of things. Scouts honor."

He was a werewolf, there were vampires running around the city and he was worried about her being a girl. It boggled the mind a little.

She was not above encouraging him. Keeping half an ear turned to the other Pipers she wondered at the idea. It wasn't something that would have crossed her mind. Like all of the guys he'd been nice and polite and he was a good looking guy. You had to be blind not to notice that.

Hey the count down was going down rather than up. At least he wasn't having to talk himself into it that would not have been smooth. So he wasn't totally hopeless. Reign placed her hand on his.

"If I weren't worried about you falling off your bar stool right now I'd not be above dragging you off into a corner and letting you get at least to second base."

Doing her best not to notice some of the color commentary, she leaned over and gave Lewis a little peck on the cheek.

"You can try in ten minutes if you want or you could just ask me out some time. I'd say yes."

She could count the number of times she'd asked a guy out on one hand. But maybe if she gave him an answer up front Lewis wouldn't feel as awkward asking the question.

((OOC... we can edit the touches and movements if they aren't OK. Just let me know))

Evan wandered away from the couple that may or may not be headed to the Video Gaming concourse to play some DDR. They still seemed to be deciding as he waded through the crowd and walked up behind the bar. There were a whole group of guys and one girl that were all talking to each other. He had not been there long enough to find out whether they all knew each other or just became bar friends who struck up a conversation with the aid of night club atmosphere and alcohol.

"I have something for you." Evan leaned over Kiyoshi and spoke just loud enough for the werewolf to hear him. "When you have a moment."

He patted Guillaume on the arm and gave him a friendly smile. "How's it goin?"

It seemed that the group all knew each other because they were ribbing one of their friends about his lack of drinking stamina. Evan got to hear the beer request full of dramatic suspense as the poor guy tried to sort out what he was trying to say. He figured Guillaume could sort that out while he made a couple of mixed drinks for another group that walked up. Evan didn't have Kiyo's flair but he was at least fast and efficient.

Listening to the blond guy do his best to get a date or a kiss, or maybe a date and kiss, Evan did his best not to smile. It was charming in its drunken sincerity and it seemed to be working for him.

Lewis narrowed his eyes in silent contemplation.

"So...I could try to kiss you in ten minutes or I can ask you out and you'll say yes." He paused, an effect not lost on the other Pipers. "But, could I do both...right now?"

It was a fair question, at least in his mind.

"I can't even begin to understand how you luck into shit like this, Matty." Red grinned, leaning back on the counter.

"Unbelievable," JT murmured next to him.

They all knew Miss Reign from around the property and as the Alpha's friend, but I don't think it ever occurred to any of the Pipers, certainly not Lewis, that she might be interested in dating one of them. Whether Lewis was scoring himself a hot one night stand or an actual girlfriend remained to be seen, but the stupid fucker was lucking out, even in the inebriated state that he was in.

"If she says yes, I will kill myself," Red mumbled under his breath.

She nodded as he reiterated the offer. If this was anything like his ordering a beer it could take a minute or five and she didn't want to rush him. Reign's lips twisted in amusement when he finally did say something.

"Well... I didn't say it was a one or the other did I? Sooo... yes. But,"

There had to be a 'but' here, wasn't a terrible one though.

"if you forget you asked me out, chicken out or otherwise stand me up I'm going to be cranky."

How the hell had this happened? She wasn't knocking it even if they did have an audience. Reign was a little surprised she'd always rather assumed that the Pipers were... well claimed or not interested or out of her league. Apparently some of them were more approachable when inebriated. She might tip the bar tendered extremely well.

Guillaume snorted, between serving beers, at the request for their security tapes. He only shook his head. Honestly he didn't think it was a serious request so he didn't answer. But he had to admit that at it was an interesting conversation. Although, he was a bit baffled that the drunk gentleman might actually get a date out of this. No one really understood woman did they? He would not have found the slow wobbly delivery attractive.

He looked up gratefully at Evan's appearance. Navid was in over his head and probably only barley being of any help to Kiyo.

"As long as I stick to beers and simple drinks it is going fine. How is the floor? It cannot be as entertaining as this."

Guillaume cast a quick but meaningful look at the small crowd. Evan would have enjoyed the exchange.

"Uh, I don't know," Kiyo said to the man who had asked about the security. "I don't really work there. I just do this stuff." Really, he was just a bartender... he had no idea if their security had audio. Should he know that?

Kiyoshi smiled with some relief when Evan came over; that was exactly the sort of thing Evan would be able to answer. But before Kiyo could redirect the question Evan said he had something for him, and Kiyo perked up a bit.

"Um. Okay," he said, nodding at Evan.

He finished the current round of drink orders and gave a flourished little bow, excusing himself for a moment while he waited quietly for Evan to finish up what he was doing. He watched his boss's efficient movements, appreciating that he could tend bar just fine without the added theatrics Kiyo used. That's what they paid him for though... Kiyo wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't flairtend on a regular basis.

JT's eyes went wide as Lewis seemingly stumbled into a date. Well not even really a date, but an offer to kiss a woman with a follow up date. Without even really trying.

"I am dumbfounded."

"He does this all the time!" Red grunted angrily. "How? How?!" His grunting escalated to girlish shrieking, making JT pull him away from Reign and Lewis, giving them some space.

JT had only known the Pipers since Christmas time last year, just barely eight months, but even in that short time, Lewis was a complete and utter mystery. He knew, without a doubt, that if Lewis had not become a Piper, he'd be living in his mother's basement, probably two hundred pounds overweight. But thanks to his werewolf and Jameson descendant genetics, he was the best looking nerd in the northern hemisphere.

"He is a god among nerds."

"How?? Seriously!!?" Red yelped.

JT pushed the other Pipers further down the bar, away from Lewis and Reign. Suddenly it occurred to Lewis what he was doing and with whom. He had just flat out asked a human pack member to make out, in a bar, and possibly go out with him later. Was that the right order of things? He honestly did not know.

"I have a pretty good memory." And he did, he had to with computers and programming. "I'm pretty sure I'll remember asking you out later. Pretty sure. I'm going to kiss you now, if that's ok?" Lewis grimaced with an embarrassed look and began to lean in when he realized something.

"I have beer breath. Is that ok? I don't carry," Lewis began tapping his pockets, looking for something minty, "those little tooth brush things. Those are handy. I smell like...irish coffee." It made him chuckle nervously.

"Oh my god just kiss her!" Red yelled unhappily.

"Should I just...? You know, yeah, let me just...." Lewis stepped closer to Reign and really looked at her for the first time. She was taller than most women he knew, definitely taller than Vivienne. With blond hair and pretty eyes, almost like the LT's. That was an odd thought, he decided. If he was going to kiss her, he didn't want to be thinking of the LT. Oh well.

Without delaying the inevitable any longer, Lewis reached out with his right hand and cupped Reign's face and pulled her close, kissing her directly on the lips. And not to shabbily, he thought to himself.

((OOC - Reign has permission to manhandle Lewis all she wants, by the way.))

How had it happened? Maybe because... oh screw it it happened. She wasn't about to go looking for logic here and decided that the question was really rhetorical. Because, yeah while sweet there was something ridiculously awkward about Lewis.

"And I've been drinking scotch. I won't hold it against you."

Thank god he finally made a move. It was good to know he could commit to something, even if he had thought too hard about it. No great sparks of wild passion but between witnesses and car bombs she wasn't worried about that.

With him standing she had to tilt her head back to kiss him, but she didn't mind that. After a second Reign leaned into Lewis a bit and wrapped her arms around his neck. Wile she didn't need things to get too hoochy Reign wasn't shy. It was quite enjoyable, she didn't even mind the beer breath.

His hands were softer than she'd expected and she was pleased he wasn't a limp lip kisser. If he actually remembered to ask her out this boded well. They'd just have to see though. She broke away before other bar patrons started to give them dirty looks though. PDA in moderation after all. She grinned up at him, her glasses slightly askew.

"Yeah, I'm gonna be disappointed if you don't as me out now you know."

She'd live, she'd might not even hold it against him, but she'd be disappoint.

((OOC... back at ya as far as Reign goes.))

Miss Reign seemed to enjoy the kiss, as far as Lewis could tell, but when she pulled away, he wasn't quite ready to stop and he felt his balance shift wildly. If she hadn't been holding onto his neck, he probably would've have fallen on top of her.

Blinking at her, he found it curious she was smiling. Licking his lips slowly, he noted the taste of her. "Oh, you do taste like scotch."

His voice sounded suddenly hoarse to him, failing to notice the erotic edge of it and the action of his tongue across his lips. No move was calculated on Lewis' part; he wouldn't even know how to plan something like a seduction, even if he tried.

"But sure, if you still want to go out with me, we could...go to a movie or something?"

"Or something?! I hate you, Lewis," Red mumbled.

Looking down at Miss Reign, Lewis smiled. "I never know what Red is talking about." Reaching up, he adjusted her glasses gently back up on the bridge of her nose.

"See, it's not fair. Women love the clueless nerd."

"Helps he's easy on the eyes, I would imagine," JT added.

"He's like a conundrum," Marko offered.

Red rolled his eyes and let his shoulder slump. "He's just...a mystery, wrapped in enigma, inside a nerd."

"His kind will rule the world someday," Dom sighed. "Choose your nerd masters now, guys."

Red leaned up against the counter and crossed his arms as he watched Lewis accidentally flirt with Reign. Maybe Lewis was faking the nerd act? It was impossible that someone like him physically would not know that his good looks were worth his weight in gold and then some. That every move Lewis made, which was usually purely innocent and by chance, would communicate such a high degree of erotic skill. It was impossible, Red decided.

"He must teach us."

JT snorted, "How to be a lovable nerd?"

"Yes. A lovable nerd. There in lies the key to untold sexual power, guys." Red nodded. "A god among nerds, indeed."

There was no way in hell she could stop him from falling but Reign slid off her stool and made an attempt to keep Lewis from toppling. He was, wow, solid. It was one thing to look and quite another to feel.

And that was just –way- too much for Reign. Her heart jumped into her throat and she blushed, not subtly either. Swallowing hard she realized it had been a while ummm… October? September? Crap almost a year. That could not be helping her right now. She couldn’t stop grinning at him.

“Scotch drinker are you? Good I like you better already.”

She was rather having to concedntrate on her breathing or she be more or less panting after him and Reign didn't think that woul be attractive at all. Closing her eyes for a second she shook her head.

“I think I like that you don’t know what he’s talking about. But we can fix that, after the movie or something.”

Reign held her breath as he adjusted her glasses and decided it was a waste of effort. Because she’d decided that if he was shy she could be a little bit more forward, and that for one night she could be a little bit grabby in a bar, other people did it all the time, and that damned it she wanted to kiss him again. So she did and was of the opinion that this one was better.

Scott smiled down at her, and raised an eyebrow at her boast. "I've been practicing, though - hopefully I will be much more of a challenge for you now compared to the last time we played," he winked at Miya.

Truth be told - he hadn't been 'practicing' at all, or at least, not much. She had always beaten him - and soundly - at this game that she loved. But it WAS fun to play - and the resulting friskiness from her on those evenings following their 'competitions' was well remembered by him.

"Yeah, the owner was a real gent. If the rest of his crew is the same - I bet this place with do great. Opening night indeed! Very impressive place indeed."

He nodded to her and took up her hand, guiding her away from the bar and following the directions that the man had given them.

"I've told you a hundred times you're beautiful - and now a stranger has confirmed my accusations," he laughs. "Kinda hard for you to keep insisting that I am wrong about that anymore, young lady!"

He casually guides them along the path given them, looking for the indicated video game room in which to test his dancing shoes against those of his lady's.

Chuckling at Guillaume's answer, he shrugged. "It is pretty busy which is good. No one seems to have broken anything, the cops have yet to be called and no ambulance has been needed. I think that's a success." He looked over the large group that seemed to all know each other and shook his head. "No, I mingled and magicked with as many people as I could manage before my fingers got tired. So for a bit I will take some money instead of making it disappear. You want to try the mingling? I can give you a deck of cards..."

Turning to Kiyoshi, Evan reached into a pocket and pulled out a small necklace, handing it over without theatrics to the werewolf. They really did not have time for a whole lot of ceremony. The little choker had bits of blue sea glass and tiny white shells dangling in a small cluster at the front, some of which the bartender would likely recognize from their time walking along the beach picking up things of interest. He had attached that to some blue electrical wire that he ran through thin clear tubing. There were three small blue LEDs, two at each end of the cord and one amongst the cluster of glass and shells.

"When you attach the magnetic ends together to close it." Evan demonstrated by clicking the ends of the choker together. "then it lights up." The necklace glowed a soft blue that went well with the piping on their clothing. "You can also attach it this way if you don't want it to glow." He took the ends apart and looped them around to another catch so that the cord still made a loop but the magnetic pieces were not touching.

He shrugged at Kiyoshi and smiled a little self consciously as he handed over the little trinket. He wouldn't be hurt if the werewolf didn't want to wear it but Evan always hoped that the things he made were liked. He felt Kiyoshi should have the necklace since he helped find the things for it.

Evan smiled and nudged his fellow bartender after witnessing the kiss between the two blonds. "What did you put in those drinks? And can I have some of it?"

Listening to the other guys grouse about their friend's drunken good fortune, he laughed. "It helps to be able to fix their computers. Those late night emergency house calls for repairs get you into the door and qualify you for sainthood at the same time."

Kiyoshi blinked at Evan as he held up what looked like a necklace. He quickly, easily recognized some of the bits from their stroll down the beach. But surely Evan did not mean for him to have it? Kiyo was stunned. If Evan hadn't specifically said he had something for him, Kiyo would not have understood.

He watched, wide-eyed, as Evan showed him the two different ways to clasp the necklace, his brows going up as the whole thing glowed softly. It was a pretty piece of artwork. Kiyo's first impulse was to hide it someplace incredibly secret. People didn't give Kiyo presents. He didn't have all that many friends partly because he moved around so much and partly because his own insecurities made it difficult. His adoptive parents were really the only people who ever gave him anything and Kiyo accepted what they offered only because he didn't want to hurt their feelings. He did love them.

"Evan... it's gorgeous. Thank you." Kiyo said it softly, not the sort to bubble over with effusive praise, but with an air of gravity to his tone. He accepted the necklace and clasped it around his neck beneath his hair, watching it glow and pleased that it matched his uniform.

"I'm coordinated," he said with a little smile. He glanced down at the necklace several more times as both he and Evan continued to watch the spectacle at the bar.

He wasn't sure what else to say to Evan. Kiyo was surprised, pleasantly so, that Evan thought enough of him to trust him with something he'd made. He was glad when the focused turned to the drinks and any possible relation to kissing.

"Why?" he asked Evan, mostly joking, "Did you want to be kissed by a blond too?"

He looked back at the two, tilted his head, and said, "We'd better find you another one... they both look pretty taken."

In the back of his head, though, he couldn't help thinking that it would almost be nice... almost... if Evan preferred smallish long-haired werewolves. Those thoughts, though, he'd never voice. He had no idea what Evan's tastes were but Kiyo understood and accepted that his own were unusual. It seemed like nothing about him could ever be normal.

Miya giggled as they continued, almost skipping along in her happiness. It was a bit of a long walk, but eventually they found the crowd that were gathered around the DDR set. There was a mat set up, similiar to what most arcades had. And there was a young male, probably 21 at best dancing in a blinding array of colored lights and sounds to the cheers of the equally young females around him. Miya gave Scott an ironic look.

"Want to try your paces first or should I?" She had a competitive streak in her where the DDR was concerned. Scott nodded and Miya pushed her way forward. She slammed down a five dollar bill and accepted Scott's hand to climb up onto the pad. She indicated that the boy could choose the song. She started with a hop back, then concentrated, her focus narrowing to the beat and the screen. She nearly cursed as she took a misstep, then narrowed her focus again. Finally the song ended and the scores were tallied. Miya, who was not used to losing, had lost by a mere one misstep. Scott took her hands in his, and she found herself panting. It had been a hard song to compete to, and the guy smirked at her. His adoring girl fans were fawning over him and Miya simply rolled her eyes.

"Sorry love. I should have not competed against him, but..." She shrugged. "Wanna find a quieter place to play? Just us?"

Now Lewis was confused, but before he could ask what she meant about fixing 'it', she pulled him close and kissed him again. Two kisses, that was unexpected, his alcohol addled brain thought. This time her kiss was considerably more aggressive and instead of over thinking the reason why, he let his instincts take over.

Her lips parted and he felt his tongue slip into her mouth, gently touching hers. Now this wasn't beyond, Lewis - he had kissed a girl, kissed plenty of girls (albeit in high school) so he knew his level of experience might be lacking. Mimicking had always seemed to come in handy in situations like this. He had been to the Howl and watched JT and Red with girls, especially Red and his 'not really my girlfriend' girlfriend Camille. He moved his hands around Miss Reign's curvacious waist and let them rest on the swell of her hips, pulling her closer, so close that she was pressed up against him. At this point his instincts were telling him to deepen the kiss and as he did so, ran one hand up her back while the other got a firm hold of the curve of her bottom.

Now, Lewis wasn't a virgin - he had been with girls, but nothing like the other Pipers. He didn't have the time nor the patience to compete with the others. Plus he always had work to do with the Pipers computer system. But he knew if it came down to writing a program from the ground up or seducing a woman while completely sober - the former would be done flawlessly, rather than the latter. Still, he did his best as he pulled back and broke the kiss, leaving his lips to hover over hers.

"Was that ok?" he asked Miss Reign in all seriousness.

"Unbelievable," he heard JT murmur.

The music faded slowly - but not completely - as they walked down the corridor, following the directions given to them by the owner. Everything was exactly where he said it would be, and being somewhat pulled-along by an exuberant Miya, he followed her lead with a smile.

Scott chuckled at the DDR "dude" and his "harem", but watched and was impressed with the guy's footwork.

Miya stepped right up, though, and challenged him. The guy smirked, thinking her an easy mark - but soon found out that Miya was pretty good at the game, too. Scott cheered her on, trying not to distract her. In the end, though - she lost by a single step. The guy's harem cheered, while Scott took Miya in his arms to give her a condolence hug.

"Sorry Miya... you get the runner-up prize: me," he said, kissing her forehead.

"What do you mean you shouldn't have competed against him? Sure you should have - and I bet if you went again you'd win. He had been playing all evening probably, and you walked up, cold and unprepared and lost by a single step? Bah! You'd easily beat him!" he said, while they walked away to the stations where they could play together.

"And of COURSE I want to play you - I wanna show you how good I've become at the game, myself!" He said the words know she was going to destroy him, but, that wasn't the point. The point was to let her blow off some steam, and relax.

While she might have initiated the second kiss Reign was more than happy to meet him in the middle. With a little bit of a hum she plastered herself against the intoxicated blond. He felt insanely good. Warm and solid and very male.

Subtlety, gently, she encouraged him. Yielding ever so slightly as Lewis deepened his kiss. As their tongues met and he seemed to gain some confidence in the kiss her hips pressed against his, just a little. It wasn't overly classy or certainly wasn't going to be perceived as innocent she couldn't stop herself.

When his hands started moving hers followed suite. One found its ways into that beautiful blond hair of his. Reign had always thought blonds weren't her type. What the hell did she know. Besides her 'type' had left her heart broken twice. Change was good. The other hand did a little exploring. There wasn't even the tiniest bit of softness on him any where. It was remarkable. Now it was around his waist holding on for all she was worth.

When his hand found her rear she completely forgot that they were in a bar, that the other Pipers were probably watching, hell she'd forgotten there were people around them at all. As Lewis pulled back this time it was Reign who wasn't ready.

"What... huh?"

She answered slightly disoriented and without making any move to pull away from him. Reign was far too aware of his nearness and those gorgeous lips hovering just with in reach to be fully aware of what he'd said.

Licking her lips and still tasting him there Reign slowly gathered her wits about her and managed an answer.

"If I had had just one more drink you would be coming home with me."

That was a hard answer to give. She very much wanted Lewis right now but Reign was still more sober than not. She knew his judgment was impaired and was not about to take unfair advantage of the handsome Piper.

Realizing that he was a little uncertain Reign nuzzled at his neck a little, softly kissed his cheek and gave a more clear answer as well.

"It was -very- good. You can do that again any time."

JT and the others tried to pretend they weren't watching as Lewis kissed the shit out of Miss Reign, but Red knew better. And he wasn't even trying to act like he wasn't watching intently. He knew Lewis knew what he was doing, especially when the nerd pulled Red's signature move.

"What the...that's MY MOVE!" Red muttered, smacking JT on his shoulder.

"He's doing it better than you are."

"Oh man. Not cool." Red furrowed his eyebrows and snorted angrily.

"Why are you so upset, Red? You said to bring Lewis with us." Marko asked in his low voice, overpowering the base of the music.

Red looked back at the others. "You guys don't get it, do you?"

Dom, Marko, and JT all gave him a strange look, shaking their head.

"With nerd here finding his groove, what's that going to do to OUR chances?"

JT tilted his head and nodded unhappily. Dom slumped his shoulders and gaped his mouth open in dismay. Marko's confused expression deepened. "I don't compete with any of you. And you have Miss Cam, Red. Why would you want to compete for more women?"

Red half rolled his eyes at the sincerity of Marko's words. "Fine, give me guilt now."

"If I had had just one more drink you would be coming home with me," Miss Reign said in a breathy voice that they all heard.

Red's mouth dropped open in shock.

"What was that, like ten minutes?" Dom asked.

Reign proceeded to nibble on Lewis as she added, "It was -very- good. You can do that again any time."

"This is your fault, Red," Dom said, leaning against the counter and looking away. "Three shots of some Jose please. We really need to get plowed."

Red rubbed his face angrily and then pulled at his dark, red hair.

His quickly fading sobriety was having a hard time following what Miss Reign was saying, but Red seemed to be overall disappointed by it if his mumbling and flailing about was any indication. His eyebrows furrowed when she mentioned having another drink. But then she nuzzled on his neck, making his eyes flutter close with the sensation and complimented him on his kiss.

"Did you want me to take you home? We didn't drive though and I really don't think I should be driving." Lewis was still confused, that was until JT got up out of his seat and whispered into his ear, explaining what Miss Reign meant.

The information was enlightening, to say the least.

"Oh. Ohhhhhh." Turning back to the counter, Lewis took up his beer and drained it in four seconds flat. Then, with one eye squeezed shut, got a bartender's attention. "And one more for the lady, if you please?"

"Oh you dog!" Red snorted.

Reminding herself that he’d had a couple Reign waited patiently for all the little tumblers to click into place. And they finally did, with some help. She was forced to hide a huge grin behind her hand and burst out laughing when he ordered her another drink, rested her forehead on his chest and shook it slightly.

“No. I would love to but if I have another I won’t be able to get either of us home and where is the fun in that?"

Both arms now comfortably around his waist Reign looked up into some of the prettiest green eyes she’d ever seen and got a little more serious.

“It wouldn’t be fair to you either. You remember to ask me out and we’ll see what happens but I’m not going to take advantage either."

She had to be out of her mind and was going to kick herself in the morning for this one. In fact, she was going to start kicking herself now. She was with an insanely hot blond who was apparently happy enough to go home and roll around in the hay with her and she was turning him down. Reign decided she had to be one of the stupidest women, if not humans (or human shaped beings), on the planet.

“I want to, believe me I want to..."

God damned better judgment. Or maybe she just wanted to know Lewis was sure about this and that it wasn’t the car bombs talking. Nope, didn’t matter. She was going to stick to kicking herself.

“You can keep your cards but I will mingle. I’m only getting in the way here.”

Truthfully Guillaume was much happier out of site and doing just a little but of mingling with people. But tonight was opening night and they wanted everyone to feel special, at home, welcome in the hopes that they would come back.

He raised an eyebrow at the present of the necklace but as it was something between Kiyo and Evan he didn’t say anything. It wasn’t his place.

Smirking just a bit he shook his head as the intoxicated blond apparently struck out. He actually felt a bit bad, but he wasn’t sure for which one the man or the woman.

“Do keep me posted how things turn out.”

Navid half inclined his head to the blonds and the others who’d come in and joined Red and JT. He hated to admit it but he did want to know how things turned out. But he also quickly slid out from behind the bar and on to the floor to see what was going on and be polite and social and welcoming.

((OOC… no longer behind the bar but still in the thread))

Lewis was ready to accept Miss Reign's objections and began to nod when JT and Dom began shaking their heads.

"Well ok...I mean...are you sure?"

JT nodded and Red stepped into view next to him, making a fist and pretending to jab in front of him. Did he want Lewis to hit her? The look of confusion on his face made JT shove Red aside and hold his hands up, subtly encouraging him with a thumbs up.

Miss Reign said she wanted to go home, and he almost thought it was just to go to sleep when he remembered what JT whispered in his ear. Was this the part where the woman says no but means yes? JT, Red, and now Dom and Marko were all sending him what looked like baseball signals silently from the counter. They were only confusing him more, so he ignored them and looked back at Reign.

Her arms were around him, but she was saying it wasn't a good idea to go home together. Confusing. And the way she was looking up at him, looking awful pretty and rather flushed, he thought maybe she wasn't really expecting him to say anything (not that he could think of anything to say), so he did the next best thing.

Cupping her face again, he didn't wait for her to answer his question, and pulled her back into another kiss, deep and aggressive like he had seen Red do with Cam, and hoped that whatever message he was suppose to be communicating was the right one.

"Aww, you sure?" Evan smiled at Guillaume, pulling out a pack of playing cards and waving them at the man. "You're not in the way. Thanks for helping."

Seeing his partner's raised eyebrow, he offered a bit of explanation. "Kiyo helped me find these pieces so I thought I would make him something with them."

Evan smiled and shrugged again at the bartender. "I'm glad you like it."

Looking back at the couple of blonds who seem to have forgotten that other people existed, he chuckled. "Doesn't have to be a blond. I would say I am not that picky but I would be lying. Still appearance isn't what's important to me. That's changeable." Especially in his case but Kiyo didn't know about that yet and he had not had time to explain it.

He moved up to the bar to fill more drink orders as they came in. The blond male seemed to be doing far better than his friends expected. Many women enjoyed a little fumbling sincerity. It made a person feel special to think they weren't the fifth person tonight to hear the same cheesy pickup line. The guy was good to look at so if you added his drunken forthrightness to that pleasing package then it was almost a forgone conclusion that he would be snatched up and taken home...except that the woman decided not to take him up on that next drink and a night together. Ouch. Perhaps he would remember to ask her out again later when he was sober.

Evan muttered to Kiyo. "It was going so good... Oh well."

JT watched Lewis slam his beer and get struck down by Reign. He felt bad for the guy, but maybe it just wasn't meant to be. And for as much whining as Red was doing, he was still trying to help Lewis with signals that even he couldn't understand.

Shoving Red aside, he gave Lewis the thumbs up for his accomplishments, despite not being able to take Reign home. She'd go out with him she said, so he could still have a chance with her. Lewis looked over at them with a confused expression and seemed to make up his own mind about the situation. Grabbing Reign's face, Lewis kissed the shit out of her, surprising all of them.

"Ten she changes her mind," Dom muttered.

JT shoved the brown Piper and gave him a dirty look. "Come on, show some respect."

Dom immediately backed down at the sternness of JT's command and it surprised even him. He was noticing that more and more with the Pipers; even though JT was the bottom of the totem pole, the core never stood up to him. Even Red seemed to notice the annoyed edge in JT's voice and stopped his sarcastic comments. It confused JT, but he chose to ignore it and watched the events unfold in front of him.

He just seemed so… Reign struggled for a word and kept coming back to innocent. Between that and knowing he wasn’t thinking too clearly it was, well she couldn’t. She could but she shouldn’t and she knew it. If she’d had one more drink and had been just a little drunk, a little bit more buzzed then she could, but she hadn’t. What she wanted was a conscience-ectomy, a loophole, a sign from God.

That would work.

Totally unprepared for the kiss she leaned back her lips parted of their own accord and she could feel her judgment clouding Each time Lewis kissed her or she kissed him it got a little better, and it hadn’t been bad to start with.

Breathless she broke away, but just for a second.

“You are making it –very- hard to do the right thing here. Do you know that?"

That said this time she kissed him. Even though Reign wasn’t that much shorter than Lewis she stood on her tiptoes to get a better angle and leaned into him, almost to the point that he’d be supporting her. But given his more wobbly moments of the evening she didn’t go quite that far.

Part of her wanted to just flat out ask how out of it he was or just throw everything out the window and take him home with her. It would be so stupidly easy. Nice guys/gals really did finish last but damned if she was leaving the race just yet. Let people stare. She was making out with a hot blond in a bar and enjoying it damned it.

Now Lewis was catching on. He smiled as she returned the kiss for...oh he lost count now...but she liked him kissing her, he knew that much. What would Red say to her question, he wondered with his hazy head? Oh, he knew.

"Why don't we leave, get some fresh air, and talk about the right thing later?"

Did that sound right, he wondered? He froze like a deer in the headlights, realizing what he just said, hoping it wasn't as ridiculous as it sounded. The alcohol was certainly making him ballsy and his inhibitions were completely out the window, but Reign tasted good and felt even better. Still, he blurted out nervously.

"Please don't knee me."

"Dude, INNER MONOLOGUE!" Red yelled out.

That was a good answer. She was starting to wonder if they shouldn't find that dark corner at the very least rather than make a spectacle of themselves.

Reign flinched at the sound of Red's voice, mostly because she'd managed to forget the rest of the Pipers were still there. The yelling made it harder to forget Of course Lewis still had to be pretty nervous to just put something like that out there.

She regarded him levelly, well as levelly as she could considering she was still a little out of breath and her lips had gotten one hell of a work out tonight.

"I prefer to go for the kidneys, some times the instep. Most guys don't see that coming."

It as good basic self defense and had come up in most of her classes.

What little bit of seriousness she'd managed there dissolved into a broad smile and she nodded.

"Yeah, lets. Just promise not to fall down."

Although he'd been a lot steadier on his feet. Maybe his head was clearing some or maybe he was at least learning to compensate for the drinks.

Oh my god, it worked.

Lewis looked at Reign dumbfounded. "Oh, ok," he said, completely shocked at her acquiescence. He looked over at JT and the others and they all looked back.

"Why are you looking at us?" Red asked with a laugh.

"GO!" they all said in unison.

Lewis blinked and looked back at Reign. He started to reach for his wallet, "Should I pay...?"

"GO!" they all yelled again.

"Right, ok. Leaving." Taking Miss Reign's hand, he took a step back and felt the alcohol in his system protest violently by making his knees buckle or that could have just been from kissing her. Standing for a second, he let his balance return and looked back at Reign.

"Ok, I'm good. No falling."

With a firmer grasp of her hand, he led her away from the bar and toward the door. What he had planned on doing when they got outside...well that was an excellent question. He'd have to rely on what he'd seen the other Pipers do and pray to god she didn't kidney punch him.

OOC - feel free to stop him from dragging you out

Red watched as Lewis led Reign away. With narrowed eyes, he looked at the others. "You guys better pony up for the drinks."

JT laughed, swiveling his stool back to face the counter and resume his quiet position. "We will."

He considered what had just happened and turned back to the counter, leaning his elbows on the surface. "Well, little Lewis is breaking out of his shell and hopefully waking up not in front of his computers."

"I haven't known him too long, but he does seem to be pulling himself out of the background and being...real, I guess?"

"Huh, yeah," Red mumbled and signaled for another drink.

This time Reign looked between Lewis and the other Pipers as he thought about the next step. There were some guys who needed there bros, but she chalked up his uncertainty to shyness. It wasn't lack of interest or he was a damned good actor.

There was a bit of a hairy moment as far as the falling but it wasn't the worst tonight and he recovered nicely.

"Good."

She was just as happy to get outside, it was quieter for starters. More private for another.

Reign took a step closer to Lewis and tried to think of a way to keep him relaxed, and she was a little worried he'd go all stiff on her. Not in a good way either. She looked up at the stars, they had decent visibility even in a major city. Not great but you could see somethings.

It was maybe a small notch up from the weather but she caught sight of one distinctive constellation and leaned across him to point it out.

"Cassiopeia. And that means Cepheus is.... there."

She grinned please that she could still pick them out. Even though she was making random astronomical observations she was also finding any excuse to touch him.


((OOC... yeah right...))

Lewis looked nervously up and down the street but relished the cool air. It helped clear the muddled blur that clouded his judgement, not that he didn't mind being there with Miss Reign, it was just how he got there that was perplexing.

Things were changing rapidly - with his work, the Pipers, and the seemingly complicated storyline that Viv had managed to involve all of them in, but that was a million miles away right then as Reign reached across him, brushing her body up against his, and pointed our Cassiopeia. His eyes followed her hand and he immediately saw the constellations and knew the surrounding ones around it. Lewis opened his mouth to regale her with the alien conspiracy facts that were trapped in his head when his phone vibrated in his pocket. Reaching in, he pulled it out and read the message.

Red: DO NOT TALK ABOUT ALIENS

Making a face, he tucked it back into his pocket and smiled nervously at Reign. Red was probably right - people usually took his vast information on aliens with less than polite objectivity. He tried to think of what Red or JT would do next.

"You know the story behind that? Cassiopeia was the queen and consort of King Cepheus. Their daughter Andromeda, her constellation is to the south of Cassiopeia, was very beautiful. Cassiopeia was pretty hot too and was kind of rude about it, saying she was better looking than the daughter of Poseidon. To punish Cassiopeia, he - Poseidon - sentenced Andromeda to be tied to a rock with a sea monster awaiting her. You know, very Clash of the Titans. Perseus is to the south west, Andromeda is south, Cepheus is to the north east."

Lewis cleared his throat anxiously but was happy with his recall of the information, hoping it impressed Reign. He added, "I like to use mythology to name my pieces of code. It's pretty interesting."

She frowned when he checked his phone, it was a minor pet peeve especially when things seemed to be going well. But it didn't seem to be anything. He didn't comment on it and she didn't ask. So no harm no foul.

It worked, she was impressed. Oh sure Reign knew the story, she could have gone into details Phineus' appearance and Perseus using Medusa's head and why Cassiopeia was upside down. But he knew the story, not a lot of people took the time and trouble to learn things like that. It earned Lewis points.

Softly she returned his charming but slightly nervous smile. Apparently she hadn't stopped being a girl or something.

"Is Perseus out this time of year?"

Computers were not her strong point but she had a brother and a mother and a vampiric pool sponsor where were all -massive- computer geeks. So she at least associated 'code' with programing rather than James Bond and brief cases locked to people's wrists. And if he was a computer geek that might explain a little bit. Oh it wasn't a given, but it was a possibility.

"I happen to think it is very interesting as well. Do you have a favorite? Myth that is, or constellation I guess."

In her mind they were tied pretty closely together, but that really wasn't what Reign was thinking about right now.

"Oh no, Perseus is visible in December. We're coming up on Sagittarius now." Lewis peered up into the night sky and found what he was looking for. "There, Corona Australis - the southern crown."

Lewis grinned, pleased that Reign knew her astronomy. He wondered if she was interested in interstellar life, but listened to the mental note that reminded him that she might not appreciate it. She did ask what his favorite constellation story was and he took a deep breath, trying to recall them all.

"I think Lyre might be my favorite, but it's pretty tragic. Orpheus, a bard, journeys into the Hell to get back his dead wife, the nymph Eurydice. He used his lyre to charm Pluto and Persephone, king and queen of the underworld. He could charm anything with his lyre - rocks, trees...anything. So, they said he could take Eurydice out, but under one condition. He could not look back. Well, you know he did and he lost her a second time. It's beautiful that he did anything to get her back, but they say he switched teams, so to speak, and it got him killed."

Pointing up, he found Lyra in the sky. "It's visible now, actually. Lyra is the radiant, or origin point, for the Lyrids meteor shower which occurs every year during April or so."

Lewis' mind was starting to clear as he recalled all the information. It helped relax him to talk, but he wondered if maybe Reign was losing interest. Should he try and kiss her again? He was almost tempted to text Red back and ask, but he didn't want to risk looking rude.

"Um, do you have a favorite?"

"Ariadne's crown, she married Dionysus."

Reign said almost absently, leaving out the bit about Theseus ditching her after she saved his ass.

It was very easy to be taken by his smile. And she almost missed the beginning of his story. Now, that wasn't what she had expected, not from a guy or a werewolf. It was such a sad story.

"Lewis, you're a romantic."

Reign said with a grin. The unexpected discovery was very welcome. She slowed them to a stop as he found Lyra. After locating it she looked back at him and waited for him to make a move, to kiss her again. When he didn't she stood a little closer.

"Too many to have a favorite. Although Cygnus has some interesting stories to go with it. He and Phaeton raced too close to the sun and fell to earth. And when Cygnus found Phaeton he couldn't reach his body under the river until Zeus transformed him into a swan. Cygnus gave up immortality to retrieve Phaeton's body so he could travel to the afterlife."

She took a deep breath and leaned up against Lewis looking up at him and wishing her glasses weren't in the way and tried one of the alternate stories.

"Or there is the story that Zeus wanted to seduce Nemesis so he transformed himself into a swan and persuaded Aphrodite to disguise herself as an eagle and chase him into Nemesis' lap."

See, she hadn't forgotten she wanted to take Lewis home with her and who said you couldn't flirt with mythology.

"Zeus got his way and he must have had a fine time with Nemesis because he placed both the swan and the eagle in the stars."

Lewis looked back up into the sky as Reign talked. The vastness of it was overwhelming and looking into it made you feel small and insignificant, which wasn't too unusual for Lewis. He was the runt of the Pipers for the most part, with Dom being only slightly taller, but at 6'1, Lewis was short comparatively. Still, he felt something in him open up and take front and center. Being one in seven billion still made him unique.

It made him feel real.

Blinking, he looked back down at Reign as she pressed up against him again. He was surprised by it, realizing she was definitely not losing interest.

"You know, there's more to me than just being a nerd. The guys don't see that, really, but that's ok. It's good to have a place in the Pipers - to be better at something that the rest can't even begin to understand."

Reaching up, Lewis touched Reign's soft blond hair and tucked it behind her ear. Her glasses were perched on her nose, magnifying her blue gray eyes. Slowly and rather cautiously, Lewis leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers again, feeling every line and curve of her soft skin. Kissing he could do, it was everything else that was making his heart race so hard that if felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. If JT hadn't told him, he would've never thought Reign was as interested as she apparently was, and he was thankful for his Piper brother, despite Red acting like an ass. But then, that was Red. Lewis considered this train of thought as he pulled back on Reign's bottom lip and then caressed it with his tongue. Maybe Red wasn't the right one to emulate? This train of thought was broken as he felt the swell of Reign's breasts against his body and realized he had a live woman in his arms and he should not be thinking of his friends, but instead trying to discover just how soft Reign's skin was underneath her blouse.

"Did you want me to take you home?" Lewis' question was direct, without knowing it, but sincere. It would not have been polite to just kiss her and put her in a cab. He had to make sure she got home alright, didn't he?

Yes, she could see nerd there. It didn’t take a giant leap, but it didn’t put Reign off. She’d been called a geek more than once after all and the cool kids did not spend hours at a time at a pool table. That and he was rather charming in his awkwardness there was a sincerity when he spoke that was quite appealing.

Reign really hadn’t expected to get that little look in to who he was. While she had decided somewhere along the line tonight she’d like to get to know Lewis better it was unexpected.

“I see more.”

Really, she did too, but that was because she didn’t know Lewis the nerd. She knew Lewis the guy who’d always been polite, who couldn’t handle his alcohol and who knew the stories behind constellations. And who was turning out to be a really good kisser.

Speaking of which… Her knees went a little weak this time. It was like he was more focused, softer but more deliberate. Running one hand through his hair Reign willingly followed Lewis’ lead. She was pretty sure he could hear her heart beating but quickly decided it didn’t matter. Her eyes were closed her arms around him and she simply concentrated on his kiss, on her own explorations and attempt to learn every nuance of that kiss, his lips, the feel of his chest against her, all of it.

Her lips felt slightly puffy and a little tingly as she worked to steady her breathing. He certainly seemed less inebriated. And she really was having a much harder time caring. Besides, he’d asked this time, just him with out any prompting and he meant it. Her answer while soft was no less sincere.

“Yes please.”

Lewis blinked at Reign when she said she saw more. Other than his mother, she was the first woman to ever tell him that. Despite whatever Red and the guys teased him about, or how Vivienne seemed so confused by half of what he said to her but always seemed to be staring when they did speak, it never occurred to him that someone would see beyond the nerd. Especially someone within the circle of secrecy they lived in, who was part of it but not. Reign knew exactly what he was and it made talking to her that much easier.

Holding her hand, he took step off the curb and hailed a cab. A bright yellow checkered cab pulled up as he felt his fingers entwine with hers. Another odd sensation, but one he found himself liking. Opening the door for her, he helped her inside when his phone vibrated again in his pocket. Without looking at the message, he pulled it out, shut it off, and pulled the Sim card. Now he understood why JT did it when he was with a woman.

What he did was his own business and he didn't need any more comments from the peanut gallery.

Confident in ignoring the other Pipers, he tucked his phone into his pocket and got into the cab with Reign. The cabbie looked up at them in the rear view mirror.

"Where to, buddy?"

"Did you have a place back home or somewhere in the city?"



((OOC Out pending response. Feel free to take them where ever, I am absolutely enjoying Lewis and Reign together and up for another thread if you want.))

The four of them leaned onto the counter silently, all thinking their deep thoughts. Personally he was happy for Lewis - not for the possible sex, but because he was striking out on his own and not letting himself be treated like a fifth wheel. JT knew Lewis was a special part of the puzzle that made up the Pipers and all the guys loved him to death, but JT saw the difference in the IT Piper. Shy, unassuming, friendly and innocent like Marko, but so clueless to the social games they all played as men. Couldn't say they were all young - he knew the LT was close to forty already, as well as the old Sergeant still in DI. But he still smiled seeing Lewis stumble his way into a date.

Red pulled out his phone next to him and began texting. JT picked up his coke and took a hearty gulp as Red began making annoyed noises. Finally he put the phone up to his ear, making a call.

"Straight to voicemail," Red said. Then JT watched as he made another phone, this time to Dougie back at the Sit Room. "Yeah hey. Do me a favor? Track down Lewis' phone."

"What are you doing?" Marko asked in a suspicious tone.

Red held up his finger and then made a face. "K thanks, man." Tucking his phone back into his pocket, Red slumped against the counter again. JT kept his eyes straight, watching the club behind him in the mirror behind the bar. He took another drink, letting the carbonation burn his throat.

"He turned his phone off and yanked his Sim card."

JT began to laugh and ended up choking on his coke.

"What's so funny?" Dom asked.

JT wiped at his mouth and laughed out loud, shaking his head. "Lewis just went up in my estimation, is all." Lifting his drink, he made a toast. "To Lewis and his accidental charm. God love him."

The Pipers lifted their drinks and let out a boisterous 'hoo rah', garnering the attention of the other bar patrons around them. Four in particular.

Sliding into the cab Reign realized she had her car here. Screw it. It would still be here in the morning and she didn’t want to drive right now. She didn’t even bother to hide a smile, once Lewis made up his mind about something he did act decisively and the next thing Reign knew she was sliding into a cab.

Damned phone. Of course that sentiment didn’t last long, Reign raised her eyebrows as he effectively silenced the cell phone and a slow smile spread over her face. Good. Once he’d gotten settled Reign unabashedly leaned up against him.

Home? Oh The Den. Wolves. Right now she wasn’t displeased to be a little bit removed from the rest of the Pack though.

“I’m over by the preserve, well not far from it."

She gave the address, sketched out how to get there and prayed they didn’t hit too many lights.

((OOC… Both out at this point I’d say. And yes! I am having a great deal of fun with them as well and would love to do another. Up for anything with them really))

Kiyo blinked at Guillaume's raised eyebrow. What was wrong with Evan's gift? His slim fingers closed over the necklace in fear. Would Guillaume take it away? Why? It was a present!

He forced himself to relax; Guillaume wasn't going to do any such thing. He chided himself for his foolishness, giving Guillaume a little wave as he headed off into the crowd to mingle. "Thanks for helping out," he called.

He smiled and nodded at Evan next. "I do like it. Thank you." It was a pretty necklace; Kiyo particularly liked that it lit up, like the glasses at the bar. And it was blue so he could wear it with his uniform.

He found himself interested in Evan's statement about being picky, but they were suddenly forced into action as more patrons crowded the bar. All Kiyo had time for was a pair of raised, curious eyebrows of his own as they became very busy for the next quarter hour. What, then, was Evan's type? Well, another vampire, obviously, he realized. Stupid not to reach that conclusion immediately. Who would want to date someone mortal, when your own life would just keep going on and on?

Kiyo spread himself around the bar, trying not to stay stuck on any one crowd. His job was to entertain and provide for everyone. He smiled at the women and some of the men, laughed at jokes, offered advice, and kept one eye on the large guys watching their bumbling blond friend, who eventually, unbelievably, scored a walk outside with the woman who was the object of his interest.

"Well he did work for it," Kiyo said with a little smile, raising an empty glass in the direction of the departing couple.

The Second and his three Nakubili were returning from the back end of the club when they noticed the amount of people had literally doubled since their arrival. The establishment was apparently reaching its peak of excitement and the voices were louder and getting rowdier.

The Second's name was Phillipe. Dark skinned with coarse, thick black hair that he combed back away from his face. His skin was flawless, despite his lifestyle, and his light brown eyes narrowed in on the loud 'hooh rah' that rang out from the bar.

"Are you kidding me," one of his Nakubili said in an annoyed voice.

"We should say hello to our brothers," the tallest of the group said in his deep voice.

"Oh, we definitely should," Phillipe said with a smile.

The Nakubili moved closer to the bar and immediately Phillipe recognized three of the four, but the last had his back to them, but was the first to see Phillipe and his VR. Casually the fourth reached out and touched the one called Red. They all turned together, casually and slowly, and watched the Nakubili approach.

The new one blinked slowly at Phillipe, looking at him from head to toe. Curiously, it was the new face that glowed brightly in Phillipe's jungle sense. He addressed the familiar red head.

"Again I hear you piping, for I know the tune so well," Phillpe started.

"You rouse the heart to wander and be free," said one of his companions.

"Tho' where you learned your music, not the God of song can tell," finished his taller mate.

Phillipe grinned and clasped his hands in front of him. "Red, always a pleasure. How are the Pipers Twelve? Or wait, it hasn't been twelve in some time, has it? What with the quiet Sergeant suspiciously absent."

"Who is your new friend here, Red?" the tallest asked.

Red nursed his dark beer as the Pipers resumed their drinking. Lewis had been gone for a short while and the excitement of watching him score a date was beginning to fade. He looked down at his beer and thought of Cam just then. Where she was and what she was doing. He had seen her the weekend before and should be with her that night, but he and JT opted out of playing at the Howl to check out Terminus. So far it was alright.

JT's hand gently touched his arm and immediately Red's eyes went to the mirror in front of him. All the Pipers saw the incoming Nakubili behind them, odd that JT noticed first, Red thought. But as one, they turned slowly to watch the one called 'The Second' approach with three of his boys.

Rolling his eyes, Red listened to the familiar poem. "Right, Stevenson's The Piper. I guess there aren't that many poems out there for you guys to learn, huh?"

Red avoided introducing JT and tried not to flinch at the mention of Charlie. Dom, on the other hand, tensed up - easily riled.

"I'm JT."

JT elected to introduce himself and remain seated as the other Pipers slid off their seats.

"These are the Nakubili, JT. Some really good friends of ours."

JT merely nodded politely, his silent presence just a little intimidating, enough so that Red looked at JT and caught himself acquiescing to his authority, even though Red had rank. Flicking his eyes back to the taller Nakubili, he snorted.

"Sorry JT, the one with the pretty hair is Phillpe. The others - well the turnover is so high, I gave up getting introduced to the new ones."

There sergeant being 'suspiciously absent' had been an understatement. The Nakubili had been present during the sewer incident downtown. In fact, been integral in the Piper's predicament, but that story was for another night.

Phillipe watched as the brown one they called Dom tensed angrily. His taller Nakubili, Anton, chuckled softly at the reaction.

"It's a dangerous game with play as brothers, Red. Accidents happen, so to speak."

He turned his eye to the one who introduced himself as JT. This one made no attempt at jocular wit or grandstanding, he just sat there, casual in his confidence and presence.

"I don't know you, JT, and we're close to our Piper brothers." Phillipe stepped closer to the seated Piper and still was almost eye to eye with the tall werewolf. Pipers - always so massive and full of themselves. Muscles for brains and absolutely no ambition. "You're not European like your other brothers."

JT raised his eyebrows slowly.

"American. Don't think I've seen an American Piper. We're just infesting the globe, aren't we?"

JT made no move to get up. Whether the Nakubili found it insulting, he really did not care, but he liked sitting and decided to remain as such.

Their Second, Phillipe, was familiar to JT only through the files the Pipers kept on their kind and what he learned through Shayle after his gifting. The Jamesons took the Nakubili as a personal insult, a stain on their world. JT just saw men who acted like it was a privilege to share their air. Red did most of the talking, that was until Phillipe took a personal interest in JT.

"We're just here to enjoy the club. Why don't you go your way with your friends, and we'll go our way?"

"Backing down so easily, Piper?" the tall one laughed.

JT flicked his brown eyes at the taller Nakubili. "No challenge to back down from...friend."

Red openly stared at JT now. The Nakubili had ignored the rest of them and concentrated their efforts on JT and his buddy rose to the occasion, being all Billy bad-ass. So much so that the tall one's face flickered with doubt. Looking past JT, he watched as Dom and Marko stayed a hair behind JT and Red looked down and noticed he was doing the same thing, lining his body up so it wasn't even with JT, but just slightly behind him - much like the Nakubili were doing with their Second. The sad thing? Red didn't even feel threatened by his sudden reduction in rank, which led him to believe that JT wasn't just an American bastard half-brother of a treacherous Piper, he was the son of an Alpha.

Oooh, that is not going to bode well.

"So," Red started, breaking the tension. "This has been a hoot, Phillipe, but the posturing and chest thumping really does get old. My dance card is, unfortunately, totally full, so we're going to have to bid you gentlemen a fond farewell."

Phillipe looked at Red and took a step back away from JT. A smile spread across his face showing off his extremely white teeth against his dark skin.

"We'll be seeing you," the tall one said as they all took a step back.

"Gosh, can't WAIT!" Red replied and then JT turned his back to them with the rest of the Pipers following suit. No threat, no fear.

Buh bye.

"Good to hear. You helped find all the pieces. It seemed only fair."

Evan looked down at Kiyo and noticed him gripping the little necklace like he was wearing the hope diamond on the subway in the wee hours of the morning. His brows furrowed thoughtfully as he wondered what caused that reaction. Oh, Guillaume's disapproval? Reaching out, he gently squeezed the bartender's shoulder. "S'ok, I'll make him one too." Evan chuckled at the idea of his partner wearing the glowing necklace.

They got back to the business of serving drinks. Evan noticed the blonds had moved toward the exit together and the group of men toasted their absent brother with military flair.

Another group of men also noticed the salute and came up to the bar. Evan was just about to suggest they take up permanent residence since they were so good at attracting attention but it quickly became apparent that they weren't going to be picking up the tab for the new arrivals.

Continuing to serve drinks, he kept an eye on the potential confrontation between the men. He would rather not have to break anything up tonight but he would also like to keep his bar in one piece. Evan listened to the introductions between them, saw a few that seemed riled but he noticed the calm air of command that the dark haired man at the bar possessed. He didn't rise to the bait and yet there was a business like demeanor that suggested he could take care of a challenge if he needed to.

The seated group turned back around without physical violence or the need for vampiric intervention. Evan smiled and slid another coke toward the tallest one.

"You guys are quite popular. Should I get autographs?"

((OOC: Let me know if that observation is off the mark in any way ))

JT closed his hands on top of the bar and watched the Nakubili behind them in the reflection. The leader, Phillipe lingered a moment, staring at the back of JT's head and then moved along with the rest of them. None of the Pipers said a word until the bar manager Evan came over.

JT lifted his hands and welcomed his fresh coke. He smiled at Evan's joke and introduced himself and the others. "Nice to meet you, I'm JT. Marko," he nodded in his direction, "Dom, and Red."

"I'm his boyfriend," Red said with a wink. "No autographs though. He tried Pete Rose'in them in the past but that didn't go well."

JT smiled and drank his coke.

"Thank you," Kiyoshi said again. He smiled up at Evan when the taller man dropped a hand on his shoulder, reassuring him. Kiyo wasn't sure if he realized the basis of Kiyo's fears but it was kind of him to be concerned. Kiyo hadn't expected the vampire owner of this bar to be... well, Evan. He was rapidly learning he had assumed or been told many facts that he had mistakenly attributed to all of Evan's kind. While Kiyo wasn't naive enough to think every vampire was as great as Evan, he was perfectly willing to accept that at least one of them was.

He had moved away to attend to a group of women a little further away, and spent a few minutes answering their questions when they realized he was the poi dancer they'd just seen. Kiyo was well aware that he was being flirted with and remained polite and friendly, but wasn't about to lead anyone on mistakenly. He watched the rest of the bar out of the corner of his eye, not missing the near-altercation between the two groups of men.

It had occurred to him that they might belong to one of the Packs but Kiyo hadn't given it any further thought. He didn't understand why there should be animosity between the two groups but clearly they had met before. It did occur to him that he was watching a territorial dispute... he understood that all too well. It reminded him of his losing battle to claim territory in his own foster home.

It didn't look like it was going to come to violence but just in case Kiyo moved a little closer to where Evan and the two groups were. He wouldn't hesitate to help break up a bar brawl if needed; any bartender did so over the course of their careers. Kiyo might not be the biggest man there but he was strong, and he had enough training on him to handle himself in a fight. He let Evan do the talking though, even after the situation diffused itself.

Evan smiled as nodded to the men that he introduced noting their names and faces and filing it away where hopefully it could be retrieved later should he see them again another night.

"Evan Talkingwater." He tapped his chest likely just in case there was another person behind the bar that the name might be confused with.

"Anything more for you guys?" He asked while filling the order of a couple that walked up and asked for a rum and coke and a whiskey on the rocks. Evan smiled when the woman grabbed the whiskey and the guy took the rum and coke and sipped it cautiously.

Kiyo seemed to be doing well for himself over that the other end of the bar. Evan noticed that a whole gaggle of women were flirting with the shy werewolf, who seemed a bit more outgoing while on the job. He wondered how many phone numbers would be slipped to his new friend on tabs and napkins before the night was done.

Turning back to the group of guys, he said. "So we've had one near date and one near fight...what's next?"

Red held his hands up and tensed his neck and chest muscles. "God I HOPE nothing else!"

JT and the others chuckled into their drinks as Red continued to silently wig out. Red supposed it could be worse, although right then he could not imagine anything else fucking up his night, other than maybe walking into the bathroom and seeing Simon Huntington drilling his girlfriend. The thought made him shudder and finish his drink in a gulp.

"You guys ready? I know you're done, JT. You've had one coke too many to drive."

JT smirked at him and finished his coke. Red turned to Evan and nodded politely as they all got up. Taking a final look around the bar, Red scratched his head and shrugged.

"I'm in the mood for some flap jacks. Who wants flap jacks?"

"Oh, I do!" Marko said happily.

"Of course you do, big guy."

"I gotta maintain," Marko said in all seriousness.

Red, JT, Dom, and Marko paid their tab and with a polite wave to Kiyo and Evan, exited the bar, in search of flap jacks.

((OOC Pipers out pending response))

Miya tightened her arms around him and stared up into his eyes with utter love and devotion. The two moved off towards one of the private areas set up with the usual pads on the floor. Miya grinned at him as she clicked 'ready'.

The dance was an easy one, and she performed it close to flawlessly. Unconsciously she made sure that she had lost. Not by much. And it happened with the second, the third and the fourth. By that point she was panting, quite a bit out of practice herself. She flung herself down on one of the couches and looked up at him, and he was upside down as she grinned at him. "I love you. Can I lay my head in your lap while I'm recovering?" She managed to get that out and grinned at him.

Scott couldn't believe that he had won their first match. By the time he won the third and the fourth, he was getting the idea that she was intentionally losing... or not really trying for some reason.

Tired, she moved to one of the large seats/couches and sat down, and he followed, concerned for her. This wasn't like her.

He sat quietly where she indicated, as she gently laid her head on his lap. Scott moved a hand up to her cheek and forehead, wondering if she was ill or coming down with something.

"Ok, love... you can tell me what's up now. I've rarely ever beaten you, and had never bested you twice in a row before. But *four* times in a row?"

He looked down at her, concern in his eyes, his hand moving to rest on her shoulder.

"Come on... talk to me. What's up?"

She looked up at him and smiled. "I'm just out of practice. And you aren't trying to pretend anymore. Give me some time, I'll beat you again." There was an odd note to her voice, that said maybe she didn't want to beat him. She snuggled in close as he petted her and a soft smile came to her lips. Her breathing slowed and she relaxed. She was content here with him, snuggled in happily.

"I love you." And she did. Everything about her was focused on her love for him. "I'd like to play again once I can catch my breath. Maybe I will beat you then." She turned her head a bit and winked one eye. "Or maybe we could find a pinball machine..." Had the two of them taken pictures of their exploits on various pieces of gaming equipment, it would have made a lot of money in a certain fetish community. "Whatever would make you happy my love would indeed make me very very happy."

Scott chuckled at her explanation. Her "out of practice" was usually leagues better than his 'best attempt', so he considered himself lucky. Damn. He should have set a friendly wager with her, if he had an idea he was going to win.

He gently stroked her hair as she relaxed. His other hand caressed her shoulder... then up to her neck, his fingertips feeling the pulse of the blood rushing through her veins.

Scott cleared his throat, moving his hand back to her shoulder. "I am sure you'll beat me now that you are warmed up," he laughed.

"I love you too," he responded, suddenly serious. She had to know that he always meant it, no matter how playful they were being.

Then she mentioned a pinball machine - and his face would blush deep red if it could. "Miya..." he whispered with a shy smile, as he looked around, as if those nearby could read their minds. "I do not think the good gentleman who spoke to us earlier would appreciate us using his pinball tables for... that," he whispered, licking his lips.

"But... maybe we'll just have to have one installed in our new house," he compromised for her, wondering if that would pique her interest.

He felt himself stirring in places he probably shouldn't at the moment, at her mention of deeds - or misdeeds - from times past. He patted her shoulder gently.

"Come, love... best 5 out of 9?"

She smiled up at him. She was catching her breath and she tucked herself closer to him although it made her feel a little strange, as if she was doing something wrong by not immediately hopping up and heading back. Her voice held a slight note of disturbance, "Can we rest a little bit more, love? I promise to behave myself." She snuggled in further, a soft gentle smile on her lips as she thought about the pinball table.

"I hope so." She then broke her promise almost immediately of being good. "We should test them all though. To be sure they are of high quality. After all, we can be a little rugged and ruthless in our attempts to uhmm... Play." She giggled in that soft mischievous way that she had. By now she was feeling a lot better, and she started to sit up. She must have drank more alcohol than she should have, because she felt very dizzy for a long moment. "No I'm ok. Just dizzy love."

Scott's brow furrowed for a moment, his concern for his partner still evident on his features.

"Of course, love. We can relax as much or as long as you want. That's why we're here, right? To relax and enjoy ourselves?"

He smiled, trying to help her relax. She seemed... tense for some reason, and he wasn't sure why, and he wasn't sure right now was the time or place to bring it up for deeper discussion.

"Or, maybe you're just stalling so I won't whoop you again at your own game," he challenges playfully, trying to keep the mood light and fun.

At her continued comments about pinball tables, he looked shy and embarrassed, still looking around as if someone would over hear. He whispered back to her, just loud enough to be heard.

"You're *trying* to make me blush, aren't you?" he smiled widely. "I *will* get you back, you know that," he said.

He watched her closely as she sat up, but he did not immediately rise. Instead, he slowly scooted closer to her, leaning in to kiss her lips very tenderly.

"We can stay as long as you want - or leave when you want. Please remember that."

She grinned back at him and then nodded. "That is my plan anyways!" She leaned in and kissed him again, long and slow. "Would you mind if we ...just wandered around a little bit? I don't think I should really drink alcohol if it does this to me." She'd always had a low tolerance and she always forgot exactly what it would do to her. She twined her fingers in his, the touch of him sending a delicious shiver through her, her nipples hardening against the cloth of her clothing, quite evident to his practiced eye.

"Or maybe we should head on home so you can.... punish ... me?" Again another of her bratty little grins, testing him a little bit.

Scott laughed - a deep laugh full of mirth. "Oh you are being quite the little vixen tonight, aren't you?" he asked playfully.

"Ok... let's walk around a bit," he said in response, rising slowly, his eyes glued to her body for a moment. He knew she was testing him - trying to see how quickly his resolve would fade, until he'd drag her home to their bed.

"Maybe we'll see some other fun things that interest you.... that don't involve pinball machines," he smiled mischievously.

He helped her to her feet, and led her away at a leisurely pace. His hand collected hers, fingers intertwined and squeezed gently. She had to know he was here for her now - and always would be. He'd look out for her and care for her, and do everything in his power to give her what she wanted.

Scott watched Miya closely as they walked, not just to take in her beauty, but her mentioning alcohol had him a bit worried. Still, he didn't let it show. He smiled and held her close, and took in the fresh scents of this fabulous new place, eyes watching those around them curiously.

Her hand twined in his, they wandered about. Realizing she was hungry she drew him towards one of the restaurants. They were seated quickly and she didn't even open the menu. She just looked expectantly at him as one of the servers came over to ask their drinks and starter. She loved him ordering for her, there was something so right about it. Something that should never have been lost from the past. Once he had done so, and the waiter had left, she lifted his hand to her mouth and licked the dent between his fingers. She was pushing him, a mischievous look in her eyes. Would they manage to actually make it through dinner before he gave in? She hoped so. And she knew that he could tease her worse than she could him. Actually the thought made her squirm some more.

"I can't imagine a night more perfect than tonight. Everything about it was so wonderful. I don't think anything bad could happen with you beside me." One hand drifted up to touch the very faint bruising left on the side of her neck, her nails brushing where he had bit her, the memory f the incredible sensations just flowing through her body. She was glad now that he had sat next to her instead of across, he was there for her to lean against as she remembered.

Evan, Guillaume and Kiyo out to do other things.

For the purposes of the thread they are still there working but as none of them are needed then they are out for the purposes of thread count.

Miya and Scott had a fantastic dinner. He knew her love of mozzarella sticks, and she knew how much he liked watching her eat. He had always seemed to take pleasure in the things that made her feel pleasure. Even if it was a bit of fried mozzarella dipped in marinara sauce. Miya laughed as he reached out, wiping the drop of marinara sauce from the corner of her lips, and bringing the dot of sauce on his thumb to her lips. She looked up at him through her long lashes and with a quick dart of her tongue, licked it away.

Dinner was always like this with the two of them. Every moment was an erotic adventure. She often wondered how it was possible to be this happy with someone else. Most articles she had read referred to it as a honeymoon period. Miya couldn't imagine this ending, and it hadn't the entire time the two had been together. Only when she had been stupid and run off. She was such a silly girl.

She stretched luxuriously and giggled when Scott had reached a finger into the whipped cream of the desert, painted her lips with the sweet confection, and then kissed her deeply, passionately and with great intensity. She mewed at how wonderful it felt. The touch of their lips was like electricity.

However the night was growing late, and the crowd was thinning. Her arm tucked into his, her body tucked tight against his body, protecting what was his. And there was no doubt seeing the two together that she was his. She was devoted, with a resolve seldom seen in the modern day.

Soon enough they were back in Scott's car, the tie looped around her wrists, not binding them above her head this time. He seemed to know that the slightly longer ride would make her arms ache a little too much for it not to be fun.

As they were pulling back onto the interstate, she spoke softly, "Scott can we go see the new house? Please?"

And so it was said, and so it was done.

ooc: Scott and Miya out, with permission from Scott to write us out. His work is crazy :-/