{wide eyed} whiskey

[Ginny Sulai]

First and foremost, she had disagreed with this plan from the beginning. Ever since Larus and his so-called friends had come up with the whole idiotic idea, she had disagreed. She had even protested, and been awarded with a slap. Even then, she had protested, bringing out all the reasons why this was a bad idea.
They would get caught.
The nonhumans would be the ones who caught them.
They would die.

None of that had mattered to Larus. The promise of riches was too appealing for him. The greedy bastard.

Ginny ran a hand through her hair, tugging on the bright red strands. Why had she agreed to this? Oh yeah, because Larus had taken Selena and locked her up. And because he’d threatened to stab the poor kitten to death if Ginny didn’t comply. She shivered as she thought of that snow white fur stained with red blood. No, Lena was the only creature that loved her. She couldn’t let her die.

She self consciously fixed her dress, aware of how tight it was. She rolled her eyes as she heard the snickers of the men she was with.
“Perverts.” She muttered.

She was given an escort into the club, but then the men floated away from her. As if they hadn’t been with her at all. She didn’t like that. It meant that they weren’t going to watch out for her.
Well, she’d just have to watch out for herself then. The dress was tight, but left a little room around her thigh. Enough room to strap a knife.

Now all she had to do was find the richest guy in the club and convince him to walk outside with her. Shouldn’t be too hard. Ok, maybe it was, for her. She didn’t have that much confidence in herself, how was she supposed to lure some unsuspecting man outside to be attacked?
Ginny reached the bar, biting her lip as she glanced around. She wasn’t sure how to tell who was the richest guy. She couldn’t even figure out who was here alone. She was startled by the bartender, asking her what she’d like.

“Oh. Um. Whiskey.” She said, not even glancing at him. She took the drink, downing it almost instantly. Suddenly, she felt a bit braver. Now, who to target?

[Xaver Xian]

"Another, there, Barley, on the rocks if you would, please."


Xaver accepted the drink and exchanged it for a folded couple of bills, sliding the glass across the bar counter then picking it up, turning slightly and leaning an elbow onto the fiberglass counter top. He brought the glass up and swirled it slightly, breathing in deeply what could only be toxic fumes of his liquor, and taking a moment to look around.

He wasn't a frequent at the Metro. Hell, he didn't like the area, even. It was far too busy and chaotic for his elder, and more acquired than natural old-fashioned tastes.
He was there, though, despite the facts, simply because he'd been in the area, and after the day he'd had, he wanted a time-out, and needed a drink. And, who knew, maybe the loud music and close-knit energy would wash away his tension.

Yeah.
And he'd bring the moon home in a lunch box.
Right.


He took a drink from his glass, then set it on the counter, folding his arms as he turned back to face the bar, the dark oceans of his moody blue eyes sweeping the faces of those nearest him. His gaze lingered for a moment at the back of a red-haired woman's head, but moved on quickly enough, coming to settle on the nearly-finished drink between his hands.

He paid no attention to the blond at his left, trying almost desperately to catch his eye, and advert his focus - instead, he leaned an elbow onto the bar and turned his back to her, his fingers disappearing into the thick locks of his hair, slicked back over his head and easily sharpening his features, drawing out the finely chiseled planes, and the fierce chill of his eyes. Clad from head to toe in black, from a well-pressed suit, silk undershirt, pants and socks, to his shoes, he looked very much the part of a moody, wrathful angel.
Which was very much what he was, though basically no one was the wiser. His vanished wings, and his sullen attitude had kept as much of the wandering eyes away, as was possible, anyway.

Xaver ran his index finger over the circle top of his glass, then paused, as the redhead he'd noticed earlier came up to the bar, just a few people down from him, and ordered her own form of liquor.
Whiskey?
Xaver's blue orbs flickered her way.
Definitely not the fruity drinks most women preferred.

She downed her drink quickly then looked around, and he looked away, though his attention was still easily following her.
He straightened slightly, then turned his head toward her, more or less hidden by the people between them. He took another long pull from his drink, then nodded and exchanged again with the bartender as he refilled it..

[Ginny Sulai]

The red head tapped her fingernails on the bar, still looking around. Her eyes narrowed as she zeroed in on someone. A clean shaven man, gray suit. He was older, he looked a good 30 years. Possibly younger.

Ginny slid the money for her drink across the bar and pushed away from it. Slowly, she made her way over to where the man stood, talking to another man. She forced a smile on her face as she came closer.

Good target. His watch gleamed, she could tell it was expensive. His suit was new. She sidled up to him, wrapping her arms around one of his.
"Hello, stranger."
Ginny surprised him by grasping his left hand. She grinned as she felt the indent on his left ring finger. No ring, but a place where one should be.
He'd taken it off.

He wanted to be picked up.

She didn't wait for him to speak, she just let go of his hand and stood in front of him. She placed her hands on her hips and cocked an eyebrow.
"Gonna stand there and ogle me, or buy me a drink?" She asked, giving him a wink.
Time to lay on the act.

She disgusted herself, actually. She despised girls who acted like this. Who threw themselves at men. And she despised the men who fell for it even more. Where was their self-respect? Did they just go for the first whore that led them on?

But Ginny kept up the act. It wasn't hard to pretend to be stupid.

She didn't notice the man watching her at the bar. She hadn't been that observant. Too preoccupied in finding the perfect stupid target.

[Xaver Xian]

Xaver's gaze followed the red-head, intrigued, in the least. She interested him. She was dressed in a party dress, done-up for a night-out, but she'd come alone, and more - she didn't seem too enthused to be there.
Which struck him as odd.

Finding himself acting more observative than he cared to be, he was about to turn away when she draped herself over the arm of some unsuspecting male. A Wolf, if his nose told him right. And damned if he didn't look at the red-head like she was a piece.

Xaver narrowed his eyes and turned around, facing the bar again with a sullen scowl, though he couldn't put his finger on the source of his agitation. Whether it was the fact that he was alone, downing the last of a liquor that burned its way into what could only be the hollows of his chest, or that it was his fault he remained that way, he couldn't tell. Perhaps it was that all the pretty ones had to sell themselves like unruly whores to get the attention the others didn't seem to want anyway.

Xaver rolled his eyes and tossed a few hearty bills onto the counter, rising to stand in all of his lean, powerful height, and shrugging more comfortably into his black jacket.
What did he care, anyway?
She was, after all, only a human anyway.

The bitterness of his own thoughts snapped at him as he turned and made a slow, graceful progress through the crowd. Though, his efforts of getting away were failing miserably..

[Ginny Sulai]

Ginny hadn't calculated right. She could see it in this one's eyes. Suddenly they sprang to life, and she saw something she didn't like. Every fiber in her called for her to get away from him. He was dangerous.

She couldn't do this. Hadn't she told Larus that?

The man grabbed her wrist, saying something that she couldn't hear above the music. Now she really wanted to get away. That look in his eyes was wild.
Scary.

"Just gotta use the little girls room." Ginny said, trying to pull away. But he didn't let go. In fact, he tried to pull her closer.

Like Larus had a tendencey of doing. Ginny suddenly dropped the act. No way was she going to end up the victim here. She gave him a millisecond of pulling before she yanked back. Caught him off guard, making him stumble.

Ginny took that moment of his clumsiness to bring a knee swiftly up into his stomach. He let out a puff of air,dropping to his knees. Then she ducked away, glancing back. She knew he'd be up in a moment, after her. She was going a good speed until she ran into someone, almost getting knocked down herself.

"Watch where the hell you're going!"

[Xaver Xian]

It had started off as a bad day, and had just gone downhill from there.
Running his tongue over his lower lip, he could taste the liquor that was as hard and sour as politics, and as unrelenting as the world and it's remaining racism against those of Xaver's world. The nonhumans. And for him, particularly, the Fallen.
Fallen Angels were, publicly, the least known about of all nonhumans. So, easily, they were the most feared. And the most hated by humans.
It wasn't, he believed, that they were discriminated against because of what they were, but instead, of what they could do, above what mankind could do. He had to believe that. Had to try anyway, lest he lose faith in humanity, or people, altogether.


He was unaware of the situation unraveling behind him, his senses overrun by the music, and the crowd - but he caught the man's pain-filled, and colorful grunt, and was turning, when from behind he was knocked into. He muttered a low curse, tones thickly lilted with an ancient accent, and stumbled slightly, though he caught himself after a step and was turning within a breath.

"Watch where the hell you're going!"

Xaver blinked down at the slender redhead as she collected herself. She smelled of sunshine and daisies, whiskey, and fear. A smell that was as shocking as citrus in the morning. As pleasant as it was - it was also wrong. She was afraid?
His immediate retort lodged in his throat. It took only a glance over her head to see the male she'd been with rising and brushing himself off with a furious manner, to put the more obvious pieces into place.


"Watch where the hell I am going?"

His deep tones were a low, hard murmur, even as his curiosity flared.

"It was not I, who ran into you."

He glanced over at her again, then finally brought his ocean-blue orbs to her level, his eyes narrowing as he met brown eyes as fiery as her shock of red hair.

"Your prospect is coming for you. Shall we exit?"

[Ginny Sulai]

"Shall we exit?"

Ginny was caught off guard. She had just run into this guy, yelled at him, and he wanted to help her? He didn't even know who she was.
She didn't know who he was.

"We?"

Damn it, how did she get into this mess? None of Larus's group was doing their jobs, they should be doing something to help her get out of there. But she couldn't see them.
No help there.

And the guy she had kneed in the stomach, the ex-target, he was pushing his way through the crowd now. He looked mad. Well, he'd just been knocked to his knees by a girl. He was probably more than mad.

Biting her lip she made an instinct decision. The guy chasing her was the immediate danger. The guy in front of her wasn't. Anything to stay alive and as unhurt as possible.
Besides, his blue eyes didn't look as scary as the so-called targets had.

"Ok, ok, fine. Let's, let's get out of here."

How she was going to pay him back, she had no clue. Where she was from, no one helped anyone else without expecting something in return. She'd worry about it later.

As an after thought, she added one word, "Please."

Ginny knew her chances were better if he was with her. She didn't know how she knew that, but she did. A lot better than trying to get away on her own.

Mentally, she reminded herself to give Larus an I-told-you-so later. It would be worth the bruise she'd wear on her face for the next week. She HAD told him so.
Or maybe he wouldn't hit her. Maybe he'd hug her and tell her she'd been right.
Yeah. Right.

[Xaver Xian]

“We?”

The incredulity in her tones sealed Xaver’s immediate intuition. The little redhead was in the club by a will not her own. His clairvoyance, however, only went so far, and his instinctive mistrust took over from there.
Most called it paranoia.
He called it caution.
In the end, it didn’t matter – it wasn’t as if he’d be seeing her again beyond this brief encounter. Another quick glance over her head brought a breath of anger to life, sparking in the endless depths of his gaze.

“Yes.”
His low tones were casually lilted, and not rushed, the corner of his mouth tipping slightly with an amusement that didn’t meet his eyes.
“We.”

The redhead gave a quick consent, and he wrapped an arm around her, the tips of his fingers brushing the small of her back, and gently nudging her foreword, toward the door.

“Please.”


Xaver glanced down at her and murmured a quiet chuckle.
“Your wish is my command, Milady.”
He gave a cheeky grin, and nodded toward the door.
“Even if it is pissing your wolf-boy off,” he added, his words only meant for her ears.

He could feel the male closing in behind them. Him, and a few others.
Then, though his composure was effortlessly kept stony, his heart beat fiercer, and his skin tingled with what could only be anticipation. Excitement. His instincts begged for him to turn around, and to face his competitors – to face the man that had struck fear into the woman’s heart, beside him.
The rest of him, however, refused.

It could never be just a bar fight, for him.
Not only because of who he was – but because of what he could do.. He could tear the Wolf apart, if he wished it. He could destroy him..
The man within him, however, wouldn’t have it.
It wasn’t so much as he wouldn’t do it, if worse came to wear – but whatever conscience he had left refused to let his darker tendencies become just natural reactions. He would fight it, and himself, every step and every way, if need be, if that was what he needed to do, to be able to live with himself. Because that was hard enough already.

[Ginny Sulai]

When he wrapped his arm around her, she was surprised by how safe she suddenly felt. She took a split second to wonder why, but then dismissed the thought as she realized how close her chasers were getting. She could hear them pushing people out of the way.

"Wait, he's a wolf?"

She couldn't keep from showing her surprise. She had figured, but being told so still sent a shock down her spine. It wasn't that she disliked non humans. She didn't really have any problems with them. But not having been sure bothered her.

What would the wolf had done if he'd gotten his way? She shivered, the possibilities crossing her mind quickly.

Ginny looked up at him, shivering as the wolf and his friends began to shout out as they caught sight of her. For more than the first time, she wished she had been born a brunette. She wished she'd been more average looking.
She wished Larus hadn't made her do this.

"Fuck."
Ginny swore under her breath, glancing over her shoulder at her perusers. They were only a few people away. They would be on top of her and her would-be savior in a moment. It doesn't take long to push people out of your way.

Then suddenly, one of the wolf's friends jumped in front of them, blocking their way out. They created a circle around her and the dark haired man beside her. The wolf pushed his way to the front, smiling and nodding.

"We don't want any trouble with you." He told her companion, "I just need to have a nice chat with he girl there."

Ginny froze in place, looking again at the man helping her. She knew he could hand her over here. Save himself trouble and just give her to the wolf. Would he do it? Would he just hand her over?

She shivered again. Violently. She could see how precarious her situation was. She looked back at the wolf, allowing herself to scowl darkly at him. No matter what happened, she wasn't going to go down without putting up a fight of her own.

[Xaver Xian]

At her question, Xaver nodded and glanced at her, though his look wasn’t chastising. He didn’t know who the little redhead was, but he knew what she was, and she couldn’t be expected to know what most of the people in the club were. Her senses – smell, hearing, and so on – weren’t nearly as sharp as a nonhumans. And, in this day and age, nonhumans hid themselves more effectively then ever, anyway. It would be a hard guess.

His lips quivered slightly, a phantom of a smile flickering over his features at her comment, though it was gone, just as quickly as it had come.

“We are surrounded by wolves.. You, Milady, may be one of ten humans in here, tonight.”


A man moved in front of them, blocking their way, and finally, Xaver stopped. His dark, moody gaze flickered over the man, then to the one who stepped foreword, his gaze penetrating, and cold almost to error. Shuttered, and closed off of the man beneath, and effectively hiding the soul that warmed the skin that now seemed all too still.


“The girl?”
Xaver glanced down at the redhead, then shook his head, drawing his arm about her waist and pulling her fully against him, shaking his head. He allowed a chuckle to slip through his lips, and though it was entirely faked, he played it off well.
“My girl?”
He shook his head again, and clucked his tongue.

“She may well have had too much to drink, Stranger, but you will not be having anything nice, or any sort of chat, with her. We’ve to be getting home, now. You know how it is. Traffic, and all.”

He nodded to the male in front of them.

“I’ll ask only once, sir, that you move. Please step aside, and allow us, exit.”

The little voice in the back of his head, was shaking its head at him.
Diplomacy?

[Ginny Sulai]

He pulled her against him and her heart quickened. Whether it was because of the situation or because of him she couldn't tell.

The wolf stilled under then man's gaze, his hands pushing into his pockets sullenly. He looked from the dark haired stranger to Ginny. He narrowed his eyes.
"Your girl?" He frowned, then stepped back, "Fine. Next time, though, I won't be so gracious."

Ginny reached out, grabbing her savior's arm tightly and squeezing it. She let loose a small sigh of relief, leaning into him. Something about him was comfortable.
Different.

The wolf nodded to his friends, and they began to melt back into the crowd. He went to walk past Ginny and the man when he nodded, "Tell me, is she a good fuck?"

Ginny felt anger flare up inside her. Did he honestly just ask that? She forced herself not to lunge at him, forced herself to keep from reaching for the knife strapped to her thigh and throwing it at him.
It took all her strength.

[Xaver Xian]

Xaver's eyes narrowed pointedly, as if to say there certainly wouldn't be a next time. Masking his own surprise, effectively. He hadn't expected the Wolf to give in so soon.

He blinked when the redhead gripped his arm, and the facade that they were pulling - or rather, that he was pulling, and that she was going along with, wordlessly - dropped briefly from his face, curiosity pressing his brow and tilting his head toward her, the dark oceans of his eyes flickering over her features. The light weight of her as she leaned into him was as foreign and odd to him as she was, and yet as natural as it had been for him to protect her. Completely weird, and yet easy.
Odd, didn't begin to explain it.


"Tell me, is she a good fuck?"


For all the strength and power Xaver did have, his level of tolerance had already been tested and strained. The girl remained as still as stone at his side, but Xaver found he didn't have such patience - not left, anyway.

He was gone from the redhead's side and was closing his fingers around the Wolf's throat within a heartbeat. Large hands immediately began to paw at his own, but the whiskey on the other's breath was enough to weaken them, and hinder whatever fight might have been in him.

"You watch your tongue," he hissed, his face inches from the other male's and his gaze wrathful, "or i may be obliged to silence, for you, it."
His tones lowered to a thread of a whisper.
"Hold your tongue, or I will cut it out. Do you understand?"
Receiving only a wide stare, Xaver shook his head, tones returning to an emotionless hollow.
"That's no way to speak to a lady."

He tossed the man to the side, into the legs of the growing crowd of onlookers, then rolled his shoulders and slid out of the rich fabric of his jacket and offered it to the girl, nodding toward the door unceremoniously.

"Shall we?"

[Ginny Sulai]

"I...uh..."

Ginny was unable to form a coherent sentence suddenly. He had just completely damaged that guy, mentally if not physically. She looked at the wolf, seeing out scared he still looked. Her own eyes were wide. But not from fear, from surprise. Why had he...?
She didn't understand.

So instead she simply said, "Yes."

He was offering his jacket to her. Without another word she took it, pulling it on over her shoulders. She glanced at the wolf, laying there among the onlookers and hurried to her saviors side.

Ginny was still more afraid of the wolf than she was of the dark haired stranger. She reached out without thinking, grasping his hand as they walked out the door and squeezing it.

"Thank you."
She mumbled the words quietly. Almost ashamedly. She had gotten herself into this mess, she shouldn't have needed rescuing.

[Xaver Xian]

She took his jacket and moved toward him, and he moved away, toward the door. There were too many bodies in the club all of a sudden - too many minds, racing and pummeling the extents of his mental shields. Too many heartbeats, sounding like a hoard of hoof beats.
Points, enough, to signal to him it was time to leave.
Time to leave quickly.

She took his hand, and goosebumps flared from the point of contact. He stirred slightly at the sudden warmth, but didn't pull away, his cooler hand squeezing back in response to her quiet words. He remained mute however, and offered no other assurance, driving them through the thick mass of the crowd as quickly and efficiently as was possible while holding onto her.
Or was she holding onto him?


Xaver fought the urge to look back at her, and pushed through the doors, breathing in deeply the damp, chilly night air. He closed his eyes against the hazy scent of the city, and finally stopped, allowing the icy breeze to cool both his flesh and his temper. Without his jacket, his torso was only clad in a black silk shirt that was unbuttoned a few paces, as it was. The air seeped through it, easily, and stole the warmth from him - right down to where the girl's small hand fit into his.

Blue eyes slid open, slowly, and looked at her, the dark depths gentle, but quickly closing expression off as fast as a broad would snatch a blanket if caught naked.
He stared.

He blamed it on curiosity, though there was no forcing away the knowledge that the redhead was far better looking than he'd given her immediate credit for.
Mentally grinding his teeth, he let out a breath, shaking his head.

"Why?"

[Ginny Sulai]

Ginny pulled him away from the door of the club, she felt too exposed there. What if one of Laru's men saw her and told him? That wouldn't be happy for anyone.

"Why thank you?" She asked, her brown eyes searching his blue ones with confusion.

"Because you helped me. You didn't have to, and I haven't a clue how I'm going to pay you back for it."

She sighed, looking down at their hands. Still intertwined. She couldn't bring herself to let go.

"But you helped me. You possible saved my life back there."

She smiled slightly, "So I thanked you. Isn't that what someone's supposed to do when someone helps them?"
Ginny shook her head, "What can I do to pay you back?"